May 28, 1976

The public loo at Winyates, Redditch, was completed some nine months ago - yet shoppers still walk in fearful trepidation. Is it or isn't it open?

Happily though, the question mark which has hung over this inconvenient convenience is likely to be removed.

The matter came to light this week at the town's public services committee following complaints to councillors that the loo was rarely open.

Technically it is in the hands of the development corporation who built it but don't have the staff to either operate or maintain it.

They built it on behalf of the district council and have been waiting since then to hand it over.

The council, however, had to wait until they knew how much they would be allocated for locally determined schemes before taking control.

They recently had notification and can now reimburse the corporation the £7,670 capital cost of the project.