Fears public toilets could close in Llangrannog have been raised, with a petition of nearly 1,400 signatures opposing their closure already collected.

Llangrannog Welfare Committee has raised concerns about the potential closure of the toilets in the seaside village, famous for being the home of the Urdd centre, with a petition attracting 1,337 signatures to date.

The petition states: “Public toilets are a fundamental aspect of public health and safety, particularly in a popular tourist destination like Llangrannog. Lack of access to public toilets can lead to hygiene issues, health problems, and safety concerns, impacting both residents and visitors. CCC has a responsibility to ensure the provision of adequate sanitation facilities for the public.”

It goes on to say: “As a popular tourist destination, Llangrannog experiences a high volume of visitors, especially during peak seasons. Maintaining public toilets is crucial for managing the impact of visitors on the local environment and community.

“CCC should consider the long-term implications of their decisions regarding public toilet provision, ensuring that future generations can also enjoy the area without facing sanitation challenges. The village would lose its Blue Flag status without the toilets. Gwersyll yr Urdd Llangrannog camp would no longer be able to visit the beach with the thousands of children they host every year.”

Secretary for the Llangrannog Welfare Committee, and Llangrannog community Cllr, Dr Kathryn Dawes said: “There is no doubt that the facilities are essential in Llangrannog – the council don’t dispute this, but they do say they can no longer run them as they do now.

“The specific issue with Llangrannog is that our community council is not suited to running the toilets as the council expect all town/community councils to do. We are a small council with no previous experience of owning/maintaining facilities and we do not have the money either (we’d have to double the precept to even begin to take them on).

“CCC have sprung this on all of us; some councils such as Aberporth are larger, have more money, are more dynamic and can manage it. Llangrannog cannot. We also have (for the size of our village and number of actual residents) a disproportionate amount of visitors including the hundreds of kids coming down daily all year from the Urdd Camp.

“The majority of people feel that this is a council responsibility even if it is not a statutory duty – health & safety, tourism and the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act clearly show this.”

A Ceredigion County Council spokesperson said: “Ceredigion has 33 public toilets. The council is currently engaging with town and community councils to see whether they will take on the responsibility for running toilets located in their area.

“In most cases, service level agreements or leases are being progressed to keep toilets open in the county.”

In Aberystwyth, the town council is currently in discussions with Ceredigion County Council with an eye to take over the running of the public conveniences in the coming years.