# Cardiff Hayes Victorian public toilets to close after £190k investment



## editor (Feb 12, 2013)

This is a terrible idea. There was a good reason why they were restored just a few years ago. 





> CARDIFF council plans to close an historic gem: a Grade I listed public toilet, despite the nearest council toilet being half a mile away.
> 
> The council hopes to save £92,000 a year by closing their public toilets in The Hayes which were renovated in 2009. The renovation came after the council investigated the need for public facilities in the area.
> 
> ...


And here's useless Labour showing that they don't give a fuck:


> Labour councillor for Cathays, Sarah Merry said: “The public toilets architecture is of historic interest but at a time when we are facing cutting services to children and the elderly, we had to make priorities. The toilets cannot be used by families or the disabled. Obviously the toilets are part of the architectural history of Cardiff and the decision was not easy but we are faced with hard decisions.”


There are disabled toilets in the St Davids centre, but Cardiff also needs these bogs for the massive crowds they get during internationals and weekends. I've no idea why she's claiming that families can't use the toilets.


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## Quartz (Feb 12, 2013)

How on earth does a toilet need 4 full time attendants?


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## teqniq (Feb 12, 2013)

I got a better idea, let's sack Russel Goodway he seems really good at wasting public money:

from wikipedia



> Remaining an elected councillor for Ely, Goodway was subsequently elected CEO of the Cardiff Chamber of Commerce in late 2004. In late 2007/early 2008, the chamber financially collapsed spectacularly following at overpaid training grant from ELWa of £500,000, which could not be repaid thanks to interest payments totalling £500,000 and other debts of a further £1million.[3] After all 35 staff were immediately made redundant,[4] it was subsequently liquidated.


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## rhod (Feb 12, 2013)

Well, it's all about saving money. How else are they going to afford the swish new Council HQ they plan in Callaghan Square?


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## Gavin Bl (Feb 12, 2013)

Very sad to hear this, a great bit of Cardiff's character


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## bendeus (Feb 12, 2013)

teqniq said:


> I got a better idea, let's sack Russel Goodway he seems really good at wasting public money:
> 
> from wikipedia



He is a fucking worm


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## johnj (Feb 12, 2013)

here is the campaign link to save the site: https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/cardiff-council-to-save-the-hayes-victorian-toilets


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## Gromit (Feb 13, 2013)

Quartz said:


> How on earth does a toilet need 4 full time attendants?



It's in a busy town centre, underground and easy to vandalise if unsupervised. 

I never liked going in them to be honest and preferred the ones that used to be by the open air market.


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## lunatrick (Feb 13, 2013)

probably get sold off and turned into a trendy bar  as long as it is listed i don't mind.


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## King Biscuit Time (Feb 13, 2013)

This is a real shame. I'm going to make a dirty protest next time I'm back in the 'diff.

Seriously though - all that fake swank they've got down the Hayes now, and they're letting an genuinely stylish classic bog go to shit.


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## editor (Feb 13, 2013)

I always use them. Love the Victorian fittings.


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## meurig (Feb 13, 2013)

It's appalling. They keep appearing in documentaries, and we're shutting them down. They're one of the few things of genuine architectural interest left in Cardiff.


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## ddraig (Feb 13, 2013)

consultation survey on the budget here
http://cardiff.gov.uk/content.asp?nav=2865,2872,3257&parent_directory_id=2865&id=13970


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## fogbat (Feb 13, 2013)

Any idea when they're planning to close them? I'll be back in the Diff in late March and don't think I've ever visited.


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## ddraig (Feb 13, 2013)

i guess it would be april at the earliest if it is approved in the budget
don't know for sure tho

weird you've never been down there, you sure? by the Hayes Island cafe hut thing and down the steps


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## free spirit (Feb 13, 2013)

Quartz said:


> How on earth does a toilet need 4 full time attendants?


2 shifts a day, 7 days a week + holiday cover would probably mean 4 attendants needed to provide a single attendant at all opening times.


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## Gromit (Feb 13, 2013)

The Victorian decor always made me feel that I should worry about Jack the Ripper turning up. 

Still a shame to lose a Victorian landmark though.


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## pepper78 (Feb 13, 2013)

Stuff like this really grips my shit. Cardiff council really couldn't give a toss about retaining any character or individuality within the city. It's fast becoming a bland, modern, over-developed crap-hole. A corporate whores wet dream.


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## Ranbay (Feb 13, 2013)

Quartz said:


> How on earth does a toilet need 4 full time attendants?


 
2 in the gents 2 in the ladies.... it's open longer than a 8 hour shift.


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## 1927 (Feb 14, 2013)

Splott pool , Pontcanna riding school and Storey Arms all closing as a result of cuts. At the same time they are raising officers pay to over £120k and have pledged £1.5m for a yacht race in Cardiff in 2017. True socialism.


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## editor (Feb 14, 2013)

A rather witty Twitter account has been set up for the loo:
http://twitter.com/VictorianLoo







And there's a petition to save them here: http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/cardiff-council-to-save-the-hayes-victorian-toilets


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## Tankus (Feb 14, 2013)

an opportunity for someone ...perhaps
http://crystalpalacetoilets.blogspot.co.uk/


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## Belushi (Feb 14, 2013)

I was reading about the Crystal Palace conversion recently, they really have done a great job of it.


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## meurig (Feb 14, 2013)

Hang on, they're closing Storey Arms? That's been there for ever.


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## editor (Feb 14, 2013)

meurig said:


> Hang on, they're closing Storey Arms? That's been there for ever.


What, the one in Brecon? Where have you seen that (and please start a new thread!).


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## agricola (Feb 14, 2013)

Quartz said:


> How on earth does a toilet need 4 full time attendants?


 
Three eight hour shifts of one attendant being on duty and one having a day off, each attendant getting (at most, its probably quite a bit less) £23k a year.


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## ddraig (Feb 14, 2013)

i imagine they'd be on about £16k, even less


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## poisondwarf (Feb 15, 2013)

pepper78 said:


> Stuff like this really grips my shit. Cardiff council really couldn't give a toss about retaining any character or individuality within the city. It's fast becoming a bland, modern, over-developed crap-hole. A corporate whores wet dream.





Agree with every word unfortunately. Sickening.


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## meurig (Feb 16, 2013)

editor said:


> What, the one in Brecon? Where have you seen that (and please start a new thread!).


Post #20 above. That's why I phrased it as a question.


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## 1927 (Feb 16, 2013)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-21469795

You couldnt make it up, closing leisure facilities in Splott and bidding for the Commonwealth games! I bet the bid costs more than the cost of running the pool and the victorian toilets!


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## Infidel Castro (Feb 18, 2013)

I'm moving to Usk.  They keep the good shit there.


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