PEOPLE seeking to ‘spend a penny’ in public toilets in Lampeter and New Quay will find they have to spend 20p to do so after it was agreed to install pay barriers at the facilities.

Fee-charging paddle gates will be installed at the public toilets in Market Street in Lampeter and in New Quay’s St John’s Street after Ceredigion County Council ruled that similar gates installed at Aberystwyth’s Park Avenue conveniences had been a success.

That will now mean that anyone using the public toilets will have to pay 20p to do so.

The council has agreed a deal with a company called Healthmatic that will see the authority share the profits made initially to pay for the installation before receiving the full income after that is covered.

Lampeter councillor Hag Harris said, while the fees may seem like a “tax on going to the toilet”, he supported the proposal if it meant that it protected public toilets in the town.

Technical services Cabinet member Ray Quant said the charges would ensure the future of the public toilets, with the council looking to slash spending as a result of funding cuts.

He said: “This decision is absolutely necessary to make sure that public conveniences are available in our towns for residents and visitors alike."

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