How much would you pay to spend a penny?

Councillors in Machynlleth Town Council are asking themselves just that as they arrange the installation of new payment gates which will make the public toilets paid for the first time - and in doing so, councillors hope to secure its future.

The public toilets next to Maengwyn car park reopened in February this year after two years of closure, when repeated vandalism drove up the running costs beyond the council’s small budget.

The council secured a grant to vandal-proof the facilities with stainless steel furniture, reducing running costs with energy-efficient light bulbs and motion sensor taps.

However it wasn’t enough cover the toilets running costs, with the council now looking for contractors to install payment gates.

Councillors have not yet decided on how much it should cost visitors to spend a penny - you can have your say by voting on the poll below.

Ceredigion County Council, facing similar financial issues, set its toilets at 40p a pop - though the price was received with mixed reviews from residents.

Blighted by austerity budgets, local authorities across the UK have been shirking responsibility for their public toilets, giving them over to town and community councils to run, selling them, or giving control over to entrepreneurial community groups.

Without increased funding from central government or raising council tax, councillors are arguing that they have little choice left but to install payment gates to allow public toilets to continue to exist at all.

A £28,000 Brilliant Basics grant from Welsh government will be paying for Machynlleth’s toilet payment gates, as well as solar panels to reduce running costs further, and a bike washing station at the nearby council-owned lodge-development, Hen Stablau, to service the many mountain biking visitors that frequent the town.