TOWN and parish councils across North Somerset are battling to save their public toilets.

From April 1, North Somerset Council will scrap its entire £400,000 budget for loos, and unless other authorities take them on the conveniences will close.

Both Clevedon and Portishead town councils are locked in discussions about taking on loos in their areas, although many conveniences in the area are facing an uncertain future.

North Somerset is looking to keep three toilets in Weston, setting charges to keep them open, but the fate of other facilities lies in discussions between the unitary authority and other councils.

Portishead Town Council is discussing a potential takeover of facilities at Wyndham Way and the Lake Grounds, although there are concerns over the condition of the facilities.

The town council also wants money collected from the Lake Grounds concessions, which includes the Lakeside Café, to be used to service the seafront toilets.

Clevedon Town Council may take on loos at The Chalet and Station Road, but the future of the facilities at Sixways and Alexandra Road is less certain.

The decision to slash the public convenience budget was taken after North Somerset Council undertook a three month survey of all 28 loos in the district.

It revealed that Wrington’s toilets are currently the most expensive to run, costing the authority 48p each time someone uses the facilities, while the ones in the Winter Gardens in Weston are the cheapest, costing just 4p a visit.

The overall average daily use of toilets across the district was 8,943 people.

The internal condition of the toilets in Wyndham Way, Portishead, was described as ‘very poor’.