Bakewell’s public toilets to remain closed

Derbyshire Dales District Council advise that the public toilets in Bakewell in common with the others it operates across the Dales will remain closed on safety grounds.

In a news release on Thursday 21st May 2020 the District Council said:

"Derbyshire Dales District Council's 11 public toilets will remain closed until the authority can guarantee the safety of users and cleaning staff.

Chief Executive Paul Wilson is advising anyone contemplating a visit to the Dales over the bank holiday weekend to take into account that the vast majority of local services will be unavailable due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

Mr Wilson said: "I want to stress that not reopening our public toilets at the moment is an operational, not a political, decision and one based entirely on us not yet being able to guarantee the safety of users and of our own cleaning staff.

"Unlike toilets in hospitals or supermarkets, our public toilets are in uncontrolled environments, with open access, and there is significant potential for Covid-19 transmission in areas such as toilet seats, door handles, wash basins and taps.

"We are looking at the potential of introducing queueing systems to manage crowds at peak times to ensure social distancing rules are observed, but right now we simply do not have the resources to manage the facilities to the required level of safety.

"Government guidance makes it very clear that we cannot open our play areas at the moment because of the danger of transmission of the virus and we have to take the view that public toilets pose at least as great a risk.

"So we are continuing to investigate options to reopen when it is safe to do so, but risk assessments show it isn't appropriate to reopen this weekend. When we do get to that position, we will be obliged to carry out a detailed consultation with operational staff and other stakeholders."