WE can only hope that Coun Desna Allen’s comments on the possible closure of the Bath Road toilets in Chippenham have been misrepresented, or that she was having a bad day in the town council offices. She knows as well as I do that attempts to redevelop the Bath Road site have been going on for over seven years now, that there is no developer in sight, and that the only plan which Wiltshire Council has for the site at the moment is to demolish the old Bridge Centre. Even if a developer miraculously comes forward next week it will be at least a year, probably two, before any new development is in place.

In the meantime, the Bath Road toilets provide a very important facility, not only for town centre shoppers but also for passengers on the many buses which now start and end their journeys at the nearby stop. So there is every reason to keep them open.

If it’s a question of costs and priorities, the town council is now planning to spend a lot of money on fishing lakes at Stanley Park, and has just spent well over half a million pounds not only refurbishing the Neeld Hall but also providing itself with a large and expensive new entrance hall. I noticed recently that even the side doors of the Neeld Hall were being taken off and repainted. With those sorts of resources, surely a way can be found to provide the lick of paint and bit of refreshment which the Bath Road toilets obviously need. My second hope is that there is still time for Coun Allen and the Lib Dem majority on the town council to change their minds and keep the Bath Road toilets open.

CHRIS CASWILL, Independent Wiltshire councillor, Chippenham Monkton