A COUNCILLOR has slammed an authority's decision to close two town centre toilets after they were roped off again due to ongoing issues with drug abuse.

Hampshire County Councillor Tony Hooke claims Test Valley Borough Council and Hampshire Constabulary should be “doing more” to combat the issue of illegal drug taking in Andover's public conveniences after toilets in George Yard and Borden Gate were shut off again in the interest of “public safety”.

TVBC confirmed in a statement that this is due to “ongoing problems with drugs”.

The toilets were previously shut off in October last year with a notice stating that they were closed for “deep cleaning”.

However the council later confirmed that discarded drug paraphernalia had been discovered in the toilets and this had prompted the need for the clean.

News of the latest closure has sprung Cllr Hooke into action and the Andover South representative has promised to write to the council with suggestions.

He told the Advertiser: “There is absolutely no need to close these toilets, the public needs these facilities.

“We can’t just turn a blind eye.

"What we need is proper policing with the contribution of the council to combat this criminality.

“We should be using CCTV cameras and proper police surveillance.

“Shutting the toilets will not help anyone.”

Cllr Hooke also raised concerns about the impact of the closures on businesses in the town centre.

He said: “It is another blow to the shops.

“We already have staggeringly high parking prices for what the customers get and people are now going to other towns.

“Closing the toilets will only make it worse.”

One nearby business owner, who did not wished to be named, agreed.

He said: “This is the second time it has happened. It doesn’t help members of public.

“You get a lot of elderly people come to the town who use the George Yard Car Park and a lot of them are elderly.

“They prefer to use that toilet because as they don’t want to use the multi-storey.”

However council bosses have defended their decision to shut the facilities and claimed several measures have been put in place since the previous closure.

These include the installation of UV lights, which were later removed as they hindered cleaning, closure of the baby changing facilities and the removal of sharps bins on the advice of drug intervention services.

Asked why these measures had not worked, portfolio holder for estates and economic development, councillor Peter Giddings, said: “We closed the toilets on the advice of professionals who work directly with drug users, as we were informed that removing access to the facilities can sometimes help to break the pattern of behaviour.

“It is clear from speaking with other councils that this is a widespread problem and there is not a simple solution.

“The measures we have put in place have not been successful so far but we shall continue to explore alternative options.

“We shall be working with the police and other partners including Inclusion Recovery to try to identify a longer term solution.

Commenting on the most recent closure, Hampshire Constabulary inspector, Paul Markham, said: “We are aware of the current closure of the George Yard and Borden Gates public toilets.

“We will continue to offer our support and work alongside Test Valley Borough Council to resolve this issue.”

Despite requests the police declined any further comment.

TVBC say the public toilets at the bus station will remain open.