Anger over Morecambe loo shutdown

Photo: David Hurst - 84 year old disabled fisherman, Fred Taylor, who fishes off the Stone Jetty, Morecambe, outside the disabled toilet on the jetty which he is unable to use despite having a universal key for all the disabled toilets in the country.

Fred Taylor, 84, has fished on the Stone Jetty for 60 years and always been allowed to spend a penny at the jetty cafe loos.

But Mr Taylor, who is registered disabled after quadruple heart bypass surgery, was shocked to be told the toilets are now for cafe customers only. The nearest public toilets are at the Clock Tower, half-a-mile down the promenade.

Mr Taylor, who also suffers from angina, asthma and mobility problems, said: “It’s disgusting. “Morecambe is getting absolutely ridiculous for toilets.

“A man stopped me from using them. He told me he has a right to do it. I’ve been using these toilets on and off for 60 years and never had a problem.”

Mr Taylor has a special RADAR key which allows him access to more than 9,000 disabled toilets around the country.

But he said: “There is now a deadlock on the disabled toilet at the jetty. I’ve seen paraplegics in wheelchairs who want to use the toilet but can’t get in. There are holidaymakers walking up and down there all the time. You can’t just go into the Midland hotel to use the toilet.”

Mr Taylor, who lives in Nether Kellet, said he’d even be willing to pay to use the cafe toilets.

He said: “I don’t think anybody would object to putting 5p or 10p in a box to use the toilet.”

The Stone Jetty cafe is owned by Lancaster City Council and had been closed since October 2013.

But the cafe reopened recently under new management.

A spokesman for Lancaster City Council said: “The cafe has recently been re-let and the terms and conditions for the cafe amended, meaning the toilet facilities within the building have now been incorporated fully into the café lease. The toilets are therefore only available to cafe patrons, as is the case with most similar establishments.”

Lancaster City Council came under fire after it closed public toilets near the former Dome site and the corner of Regent Road in 2009.

The council still operates public toilets at the Clock Tower, the Festival Market, the West End Gardens and the Arndale Centre.

The new management of the Stone Jetty Cafe were unavailable for comment.