Update Toilets finally re-opened for the bank holiday weekend.
Don’t get caught short in Hebden Bridge
Tuesday, 21 August 2018
The main public toilets have been closed for some days now. Shopkeepers have told the HebWeb that customers and visitors have been asking where they could go.
Add to this, the long term closure of the public toilets at Hebden Bridge Station and it is quite apparent that both locals and tourists may have quite a problem.
Valley Road Toilets
The HebWeb approached Calderdale Council for an explanation and received a reply on behalf of Cllr Barry Collins, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Strategy. He told the HebWeb:
Unfortunately we have had to temporarily close the public toilets at Valley Road and New Road in Hebden Bridge whilst we carry out essential, unforeseen repairs due to vandalism. These are valued community facilities and we urge local people to report any anti-social behaviour. We know how important it is to reopen the toilets as soon as possible, and we are planning to do this before the Bank Holiday weekend.
One of the closed toilets at New Road
Why do we need more and better toilets?
There are an increasing number of specialist user groups, whose lives are affected by the state of Britain’s public toilets. These include people with mental or physical disabilities and their carers; the infirm or elderly; people with babies or young children and people of all ages who are coping with a range of medical conditions.
- Britain’s population has an increasingly significant ‘ageing’ profile.
- Residents travel more within the country, and the number of visitors to Britain increases each year, placing added pressure on our existing toilet facilities
- Public health and hygiene, as well as environmental issues, are constantly in the news, with increasing media interest in all matters relating to public toilets
- Public toilets are the ‘shop window’ for any area or establishment – where first and lasting impressions of levels of customer care are made
More info from Hebden Bridge Disability Access Forum
Hebden Bridge Disability Access Forum members checked on Thursday 23 August and New Road accessible toilet (next to Hope Baptist church) is still open to disabled people with a RADAR key, although the other toilets there and on Valley Road remain closed. The New Road accessible toilet is always open all evening too for RADAR key holders.
The RADAR key toilet in Calder Holmes Park next to the cafe, is also open, as are the 20p coin entry toilets in the park for general use.
Accessible toilets for disabled people to use are also available during opening hours in Hebden Bridge Library, Hebden Bridge Town Hall and Salem Street Community Centre – see Step-free Access Map for locations.