A TOWN mayor has attacked Wyre Forest District Council for its "lack of logic" after figures for a new superloo were revealed.

Stourport mayor Michael Grinnall is furious a new facility, to replace vandalised toilets in Bridge Street which have been boarded up, will cost "almost as much to maintain" as the old toilets.

Mr Grinnall, a district councillor for Mitton, has discovered the superloo's installation will cost £39,000 with maintenance covered by public use charges, while refurbishment of the old toilets will cost £50,000 plus further maintenance.

However, he believes the margin is a small gap when compared to the views of many Stourport folk aghast at the long-running closure saga.

He said: "I don't know where the district council pulls these figures from but there seems a severe lack of logic.

"I could get quotes for a fraction of the price because I've done it before. People should not have to pay to use the toilet and many are scared of these superloos because folk have been trapped in them before.

"As for the vandalism aspect, the public should not have to pay the price for this because it is more a matter for the police to deal with."

He added: "It would be better if the loos closed in the early evening to avoid problems, especially as people using the pubs can go to the toilet there."

The toilets were first earmarked for closure in March last year in a bid to save the council £10,000, and despite a reprieve while a feasibility study into their future was carried out, have now been boarded up in preparation for demolition.

Council head of cultural, leisure and commercial services Andrew Dickens would not comment on the cost of the superloo.

He said: "I do not know of superloos being unpopular and we want to offer a 24-hour facility made of stainless steel in a more visible area to thwart vandals."

"Townsfolk and businesses have expressed fears the public will urinate in the streets in the evening now the toilets have closed, as they were the only ones open in the town centre after 6.30pm."