Cafe owner 'sick' of seeing people use Anglesey sand dunes as toilet wants public loos open all year

Cafe owner Phil Brown said it means a lot of people try to use his toilets despite not being customers. Credit: Daily Post Wales

A business owner has complained he is sick of watching people using the sand dunes at an Ynys Môn beauty spot as a loo because public toilets are shut.

Phil Brown, who owns the Sea Shanty cafe next to the beach at Trearddur Bay, said the facilities need to be kept open year-round because of the rising popularity of the area with tourists.

The area, which used to become a "ghost town" once the summer was over, attracts thousands of visitors each year.

The local council said it cannot afford to keep the toilets open once the main tourism season finishes.

However, Mr Brown said he was sick of seeing people "crouching in the sand dunes to do their business" or coming into his cafe to use the toilet despite not being customers.

The business owner said: "We are sick of the public begging to use our café facilities which were built to facilitate our customers, not the public who want to wash the sand off their children. But where else can they 'go', particularly pregnant women."

He has now written to Angelsey Council leader Llinos Medi demanding the public loos remain open throughout the year.

In his letter, Mr Brown said: "In 1820, Merthyr Tydfil landlord Josiah Atkins was challenged that his houses did not have toilets. He loftily replied 'The people of Merthyr do not want toilets'. 200 years later it is breath taking to see that Ynys Mon council have adopted the same attitude."The public toilets in Trearddur Bay are closed and will not reopen until March 15. I wish to tell you that most people cannot wait that long.

"Ynys Môn council appear not to understand that toileting is an all-year-round activity. Trearddur Bay is now an all-year-round visitor destination."

He added local businesses are "working hard" to boost tourism.

Mr Brown said a lack of public toilets, the introduction of 20mph rules and proposals for a "'tourism tax'" are all driving visitors away.

The area is very popular with second homeowners.

An Anglesey County Council spokesperson said: “Of the 14 Public Toilets we operate, 10 are seasonal with the toilets at Breakwater Country Park, Amlwch, Llangefni and Menai Bridge open all year round.“We are aware of the ever-growing call for opening more public toilets all year round. Every local authority in Wales is facing severe financial pressures and we are currently doing all we can just to maintain these services at existing levels."Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that the status quo will change on Anglesey any time soon. The ongoing financial cuts mean we cannot operate all 14 toilets throughout the year as we’d wish.”

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