THE public toilets in Jubilee Road may be closed and replaced by a community scheme, it has been suggested.

Shops in Parkstone could be offered the chance to take part in the Community Toilet Scheme, which would allow members of the public to use their facilities, if the proposal gets the go-ahead from full council at Borough of Poole.

A recommendation was put before the environment overview and scrutiny committee at Borough of Poole and has been unanimously backed.

The proposal could bring a saving of around £12,500 to the council in the first year.

Currently, the Jubilee Road toilets attract the highest number of complaints out of all of the 32 sites that the council maintains, the committee was told.

Richard Wilson, chairman of Ashley Road Traders’ Association, said that many traders believed that the scheme could potentially increase their customer base.

He said: “The association’s committee believes that it could be of benefit to those traders who opt into the scheme, because it could attract people into the shop to use the toilets and may then purchase something after.

"I know personally that a while ago when Jubilee Road was shut off and people couldn’t access the toilets, the number of people who came into our shop was a lot more than normal.

“I’m going to personally go round to some of the traders and ask how they feel about the scheme.”

Shaun Robson, head of environmental and consumer protection services, said: “The proposal represents an opportunity to improve public toilet provision to members of the public, and strengthen community links in the local centre and to close a facility that reflects poorly on the council.”