LAST year there was considerable controversy in the Ashley Road area of Parkstone on the decision of Poole council to close down the public toilets.

But then the issue was in the end not just the actual close down, but the whole matter of the due process that led to the closure.

What we found in due course was that the decision had been unanimously cleared by six councillors in an environmental committee.

This decision resulted in many months of considerable upset for shoppers, traders and residents.

Councillors finally reacted months later with a petition seeking to overturn the decision they had themselves made six months earlier.

In all, a complete fiasco and a huge waste of time for everyone.

The state of play now is that the toilets have now been demolished this past week.

This has then released a large area of open space so I for one hope that this time round, after last year’s controversy, that councillors and council will be good enough to consult with all local interests how this space is to be used.

It may be pay-to-use toilets will go in some time in the future.

Toilets are, of course, needed.

In any case, or in the meantime, landscaping, with two or three trees, would do a very good job of screening loading bays, and this would then be in keeping with the general (and very welcome) improvements in Ashley Road.

JEFF WILLIAMS, Jubilee Road, Parkstone