Public toilets reopen in two parks, with more set to follow

Public toilets at Morgan Jones Park in Caerphilly and Ystrad Mynach Park have opened for the first time since the coronavirus lockdown.

The toilets at Waunfawr Park, Crosskeys, are expected to reopen soon, while Caerphilly County Borough Council is also aiming to have the toilets at Parc Cwm Darran, Sirhowy Valley County Park and Pen y Fan Pond reopened.

A spokesman for Caerphilly County Borough Council said the toilets have been reopened “in line with the latest coronavirus guidelines.”

The spokesman added: “Like all our local authorities, we have been required to follow appropriate Welsh Government and public health advice to ensure that we can reintroduce our services in a safe and consistent manner.

“We would like to thank residents for their patience and understanding during the closure period.”

Councillor Colin Mann, leader of the council’s Plaid Cymru group, described the move as “common sense” and said: “I was always confident that they could be opened safely and it is good to see a hand gel dispenser being made available.

“I had requested that council officers review the closure and resolve this issue. They’ve done that now, but I believe this could have resolved a lot earlier.

“Parks are well used so it is disappointing that the toilets have been locked up during most of the busy school holiday period.”

Cllr Jamie Pritchard, who represents the Morgan Jones ward for Labour, said: “Having seen the large amount of preparation work that has been taking place, it was clear to me that reopening the toilets was never going to be simple.

“This has taken hard work to secure, so I would like to recognise the role that residents, officers and the political leadership of the council have played over the last few weeks in particular”.

Fellow Morgan Jones ward councillor Shayne Cook said it was “important” that safety guidance was followed.

He added: “We worked hard behind the scenes to make the case for reopening, as soon as public safety could be ensured.”

Caerphilly Town Mayor, Plaid Cymru’s, Mike Prew said: “This follows the good news about maintenance work on the splash pool in Morgan Jones Park, which we also raised some time ago.”

Additional reporting by the Local Democracy Reporting Service