Date: 14/10/2009
A public toilet at Hadfield was reopened on Wednesday 14 October, after vandals forced its closure.
And the public will no longer have to pay the 20p that High Peak Borough Council used to charge to use the facility.
The toilets in Station Road had to close after offenders broke the mechanism on the coin-operated exterior door in an apparent attempt to remove money.
Councillor Peter Kay, from neighbouring Padfield ward, asked the council if it would be financially viable to stop charging and to install an exterior door without a mechanism.
The council was able to confirm that it would be viable to do this, as only a small amount of money was collected from the toilets, and most of this was then spent on collecting the cash and maintaining the lock. The main purpose of the coin lock had been to deter vandals but, clearly, the lock was becoming a target in its own right.
Therefore, the door has now been repaired with the coin-operated lock removed on a trial basis.
Said John Haken, Executive Councillor for the Environment: "The decision to stop charging was good common sense, bearing in mind that the door was a target for vandals and that the revenue didn't justify staff time in counting it".