My wife and I often walk into Brighton from Portslade along the seafront and have been appalled at the closure of most of the public toilets along the route. This lack of facility is also mirrored at places like the Pavilion Gardens in Brighton and indeed within Portslade itself.

This is completely unacceptable. I'm aware of the severe and ongoing cutbacks to council finances over the past ten years but to close this most basic of public provisions as a money saving measure is intolerable and untenable.

I've been contacted by many Portslade residents in regard to this issue who have been placed in embarrassing and distressing situations due to the lack of a public toilet.

This cannot be allowed to continue and there must be agreement between all councillors that the re-opening of our public toilets receives the highest priority. We also need to make sure that provision is made in our annual budget in March to maintain this service. I realise this might mean difficult choices in terms of other services not getting funded but what sort of council is it that cannot, in a busy seaside resort full of both tourists and residents, provide such an essential and critical public service?

Cllr Peter Atkinson

Independent, North Portslade