TOILETS at a council leisure facility can continue to be used by the public even though they are not designated public toilets, a council cabinet member has said.

Concern had been expressed over access to the Tuned In! complex in Redcar by Councillor Ceri Cawley, who runs an inclusions disability group.

Toilets at council leisure facility in Redcar continue to be used as toilets even though they’re not designated public toilets.

She sought assurance from Redcar and Cleveland Council’s cabinet member for children’s services, Councillor Alison Barnes that the toilets and a changing room, which includes a hoist providing assistance for the disabled, would remain open to the public.

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The £5m facility, which opened in 2011, includes a café, IT suites, a performance area and dance studio and overlooks the town’s boating lake.

The council wants to maximise its use by the local community and potential visitors from afield by potentially remodelling it into an arts and culture “centre of excellence” should external funding be able to be secured.

Youth clubs run from the building four nights a week and it is also hired and used by a range of organisations.

Cllr Barnes said: “The toilets within Tuned In! are not classified as public toilets, but it has been agreed that the public are able to access them when the building is open, including the hoisted changing facility.

“Nobody is turned away if they ask to use the facilities.”

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Cllr Barnes said she “totally agreed” with the assertion that there were not enough toilets in Redcar and said the council was taking steps to provide additional public toilets in Coatham, near to Tuned In! and the beach at Majuba.

She said: “As and when there are any changes to the Tuned In! Building we will ensure continued access [by the public] to the toilets.”

Cllr Cawley said more signposting was needed to state the toilets were available.

Cllr Barnes suggested this would not occur, adding: “They are not public toilets, they are facilities available within the building for public use if requested, in exactly the same way that toilets are available at Morrison’s [supermarket] for example.”

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