DUNSTER’S only remaining public toilets will be forced to close unless businesses in the village can stump up around £3,000 a year to keep them open.

Dunster Parish Council have funded and maintained the toilets in the Dunster Steep Car Park since April 2017 after West Somerset District Council stopped funding them.

After much discussion, a decision was made to charge 20p to use the toilet, however the decision seems to have backfired as the company that made the specific type of lock chosen for security reasons has since discontinued them, meaning the parish council has ended up shipping in parts from Taiwan when issues arise.

Doug Challoner, chairman of Dunster Parish Council, said: “Visitors have not reacted well to paying to use the toilets.

“Quite a few complaints have been made and vandalism has taken place.”

In May, a vandal caused real damage to one of the locks and the parish council has struggled to repair it. It is currently out of order and will cost around £500 to replace.

“The parish council is currently making between 300 and 400 visits to the toilets for repairs, restocking and revenue collection and we do not believe this is a sustainable system,” Cllr Challoner said.

“We are trying to devise a non-paying system but the parish council already put a considerable sum toward the toilets and we believe the extra money will need to be found from local businesses - particularly those which benefit from the toilets staying open.”

Dunster Parish Council say if the situation stays as it is, the toilets will likely be closed in the next 12 months.

The council is asking for a total contribution of £3,150 split between local hotels, restaurants and tea rooms as well as Dunster Castle.

Cllr Challoner says losing the toilets could have a major impact on tourism in Dunster as some of the companies which bring in hundreds of tourists on coaches may cease to do so if there are no public toilets available.

The affected businesses are currently considering the proposal.