Fund may pay for new toilets
1:30pm Wednesday 10th March 2010 in Your Town
A POT of money given to a town council to spend on projects in the area could be saved up to put towards a new toilets.
Horwich Town Council has held preliminary discussions about how the District Centre Improvement Fund — a £50,000 grant from Bolton Council given every other year — could be spent.
The town council still has £40,000 from 2008 which has not been spent. Some of that pot, £10,000, went towards a feasibility study for the market which found the market hall in Curteis Street was no longer cost-effective.
An outdoor market now operates on Fridays at St John Street car park, but at present there are no toilet facilities nearby.
It was suggested at a meeting on Monday night that some of the money could be spent on small projects and the rest could be carried over to put towards a bigger scheme.
Cllr Stephen Rock, leader of Horwich Town Council, said: “Depending on the market situation, we could look at whether there is a chance of building a new toilet block and possibly creating more parking spaces.“ Cllr Bob Ronson, chairing the meeting, told councillors that a letter from Bolton Council officer Laura Boardman had been received. She said that a new toilet block would cost £100,000 to £120,000.
Councillors are holding off making any decision until they know the outcome of the market review, which is expected to take place in the summer.
Other possible ways to spend the money suggested were a youth shelter at Old Station Park, lighting for a footpath next to Horwich Leisure Centre in Victoria Road, and safety railing on Lee Lane near the Royal Bank of Scotland.
The town clerk is to look into costings for the ideas put forward and will report back at a future meeting. It was suggested that some of the ideas could be funded through grants from the Two Towns Area Forum.
