A county-wide call for clarity and support has been made as Hay-on-Wye, Glasbury and other towns, villages and committees across Powys struggle to maintain public toilet facilities in the absence of sustainable funding.

A formal request has been sent to Powys County Council asking for an urgent update on its local toilet strategy, as required by the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017. The legislation places a duty on local authorities to assess the need for public toilets in their area, consult communities, and develop a sustainable, long-term plan.

This follows a response from the Welsh Government, which reaffirms the statutory responsibilities held by local councils and acknowledges the growing financial burden falling on town and community councils. Many of these councils, already stretched thin, are struggling to maintain these essential public facilities without the necessary resources.

“The people of Hay-on-Wye and other towns deserve access to safe, clean, and accessible toilets,” said Cllr Gareth Ratcliffe (Hay).

“Instead, local councils are being forced to shoulder the full cost of providing a public service without any dedicated funding or strategic support from Powys County Council. This is not sustainable.”

While the Welsh Government has introduced 100 per cent business rate relief for standalone public toilets, many people fear that this measure alone is not enough and there are worries that some communities are already reaching breaking point.

“It’s time for the Welsh Government and local authorities to step up. Community councils are doing their best, but they cannot do it alone,” added Cllr Ratcliffe.

Fears have been shared that public toilet closures will continue with a possible lack of funding at government and county level, causing a knock-on effect for public health, tourism, and inclusion, especially for older people, families with young children, and people with health conditions or disabilities.

A spokesperson for Powys County Council said: “The operation of public toilets by the county council is not a funded statutory function and due to increasing pressures on budgets, the council concluded some years ago that it would no longer continue to operate public toilets to protect the delivery of its core and statutory functions.

“This was not a decision it took lightly and was taken in consideration of pressures on other budget areas such as social care and education. Whilst we do review funding each year, the pressures in other areas of statutory service delivery remain such that it has not been possible to make provision for any further support for toilets at this time.

“A number of town and community councils, or community interest groups at the time took the opportunity to take on the operation of the toilet facilities and we continue to support this indirectly by giving a concession for the business/non-domestic rates element.

“Whilst we appreciate the costs and resources involved for operating toilets is challenging, the council is not in a position to provide funding for this provision.”

A GoFundMe page has been set up by the Love Glasbury Toilets committee to keep the toilets open.