THE £100,000 plan to refurbish public toilets in Ilkley's central car park has been postponed by Bradford Council.

The ambitious project would have included new baby changing facilities and a full-time attendant charging 20p a time to use the toilets.

But in a letter this week, Bradford's graffiti removal manager Keith Hammerton says that the work, which had been planned for next month, will not go ahead.

In the letter he says: "In the past, major refurbishments have been funded from cleansing budgets,

however, a combination of factors, including the high cost of repairs following vandal attacks, has meant that this source of funding is no longer available.

"The work at Ilkley had been planned for February/March of this year, but we are now not able to achieve this target."

Planning permission and building control approval had already been granted for the work to be carried out but Mr Hammerton says he cannot give details of when, or if, the work will actually get done.

Councillor Keith Thompson (Lab-Wibsey), the head of waste management on the council, said that the local authority still planned to carry out the work but he did not say

when.

In November vandals carried out a £6,000 wrecking spree at the toilets damaging windows, ripping out wires and boilers as well as breaking water pipes. The toilets were closed while repairs were carried out.

Ilkley Parish and District Councillor Anne Hawkesworth said the latest postponement confirmed her worst fears about the council's commitment to carrying out the

work.

Waste management officials approved the scheme in December from a budget which stretches as far as 2004.

But Mr Hammerton says that if the council's executive gives their approval the plan would be considered within the directorate's capital expenditure plan for 2000/2001.

But Coun Hawkesworth said: "I have said repeatedly I will believe it when I can go into the toilets and shake hands with the attendant."

She described the decision to postpone the refurbishment as a short-term money saving exercise which would damage the district's image in the long term.

Coun Hawkesworth said: "Not to improve the facilities in Ilkley reflects extremely badly not just on Ilkley but on the local authority as well.

"I have always been of the opinion that the controlling group did not have a policy in the outer areas. On reflection I have decided they do have a policy - it is to make promises and then renege on them."

According to Coun Thompson, Bradford Council does not plan to spend as much as a penny on

improving other toilets in Ilkley.

"There are no plans at the moment to upgrade the Denton Road toilets or re-open the Wheatley Lane toilets," said Coun Thompson.

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