St. Agnes Parish Council – maintaining high-quality public facilities
St. Agnes Parish Council manages three sets of public toilets and is committed to keeping these facilities open, clean and safe for residents and visitors. Many areas have had to close public toilets because of rising costs. The Council does not want that to happen here.
The cost of cleaning, repairs, waste disposal, water and electricity for the public toilets is expected to be £58,365 this year.
This is nearly 7% of the Council’s annual budget and does not include staffing time, unforeseen repair costs, vandalism, anti-social behaviour or modernisation works. To help protect the long-term future of the service, the Council introduced a 50p charge at Porthtowan public toilets in September 2025 and will introduce the same charge at Trevaunance Cove between May and August 2026.
The charge helps to ensure that the people using the facilities make a small contribution towards their upkeep.
This is particularly important in a parish which welcomes many thousands of visitors each year. Visitors do not contribute through the parish element of Council Tax, but their use of the toilets increases demand, wear and tear, cleaning and maintenance costs.
Charging also helps the Council keep the wider Council Tax burden as low as possible. Without additional income, the full cost of providing and maintaining the toilets would need to be met from Council Tax or by reducing other services. The income raised will be reinvested into the toilets to help keep them clean, safe, accessible and available for legitimate users.
The Council has also faced incidents of vandalism and anti-social behaviour in public toilets. Previously, the Council regularly had to close facilities during the evening and overnight to reduce damage and misuse, which caused inconvenience to genuine users. Since charging was introduced at Porthtowan in September 2025, the Council has seen a downward trend in vandalism and anti-social behaviour.
Unfortunately, there have also been incidents of doors being propped open with stones and other items to avoid payment. This damages the doors and is self-defeating. If the Council has to spend money repairing damaged doors or payment systems, those costs ultimately fall back on the Council Tax payer. That is exactly what the charging system is trying to avoid.
Please do not prop open the doors. If you see someone doing this, please report it to the Council and to the police, as this is vandalism. If you find a door propped open, please remove the prop if it is safe to do so and report it to the Council.
How the payment system works
A 50p charge applies per use.
Payment is by contactless card or smart payment method only; cash is not accepted.
The toilets will remain open 24 hours a day, with the arrangements reviewed after 12 months.
Radar key holders will continue to have free access to disabled facilities.
Support for residents and community groups
To make sure residents do not have to “pay twice”, the Council has introduced a lifetime Residents’ Card.
This costs £10 and allows unlimited use of all public toilets in the parish which use this system. The card can be purchased from the Council offices and proof of address within the parish is required, such as a Council Tax bill.
The £10 charge covers the cost of the physical card and administration. As the Council’s funds come from Council Tax, issuing free cards to all 8,500+ residents would divert money from other services. This approach means only those who choose to have a card pay for its production.
For residents who use the facilities regularly, a £10 lifetime card may offer good value. For those who only use the toilets once or twice a year, it may be cheaper simply to pay the 50p charge when needed. It is a personal choice based on how often you use the public toilets.
Pre-paid access cards will also be available free of charge to local schools, nurseries, scout groups and similar community groups, by prior arrangement with the Parish Council.
The Council appreciates the community’s understanding and cooperation as these necessary changes are introduced to help keep public toilet facilities open, well-maintained and available for everyone.
Further information
For further information, please contact St. Agnes Parish Council at clerk@stagnes-pc.gov.uk.