Public toilets now open

We understand that the legal transfer of Audlem's public toilets has now been completed and the toilets will be open from today.

As regular readers will know, the refurbishment of the toilets was finished by the end of August but they could not open because Cheshire East council had not transferred the ownership from themselves to Audlem Parish Council. That process, however, has now been completed.

All new interior

The toilets have been overhauled completely inside. Previously, only about a third of the building was used with an unpopular, and unreliable, automatic flushing and cleaning ladies toilet; a male toilet that was exceedingly small and a disabled facility.

The toilets now have conventional white ware and cubicles – in a tasteful shade of powder blue – and the whole of the interior is now used.

Brighter Exterior

The exterior has been brightened up with colourful designs of the village and surrounding countryside by local artist Jo Halden, all taken from the current Audlem tea towel designed by her.

Local contractor

The refurbishment has been carried out by local contractor CMS (Construction Management Services) led by Des Guerin and the whole process has been supervised by Audlem parish councillors Bill Consterdine and Mike Hill.

The toilets are free to use but honesty boxes have been installed for anyone who wishes to contribute to help defray the costs of operating the facility.

The toilets automatically lock in the evening and reopen each morning. The cleaning contract has been awarded to Audlem Angels.

'First Toilets of the North'

A sharp-eyed geography enthusiast also pointed out that Audlem's toilets were the most southerly in the whole of the North of England, further proof of Audlem's claim to be 'The First Village of the North'. This remarkable, and previously unremarked fact is acknowledged on a small plaque on the toilet wall! 

This article is from our news archive. As a result pictures or videos originally associated with it may have been removed and some of the content may no longer be accurate or relevant.