THE public toilets at the quay in Kingsbridge now cost 20p to use as of last Thursday as part of a trial scheme.

The decision to charge for the toilets in Kingsbridge by South Hams Council was put to Kingsbridge Town Council in September last year, when town councillors were told that the ­district council estimates the ­toilets cost £33,000 a year to run.

District councillor Rufus Gilbert said at the time: 'Councils all over the county are just closing their loos; we're fighting to keep ours open, but they cost a lot to run.

'If we charge for the bottom ­toilets and keep the Fore Street toilets free, we hope we can raise enough to support the others.'

A 2008 Government report on the 'Provision of Public Toilets' stated that the cost of maintaining public toilets was 'up to £15,000 per annum', and costs quoted by other councils to run toilets varies wildly, with Aberdeen City Council estimating its toilets cost between £4,400 and £11,900 a year to run.

In Salcombe in September South Hams Council told the town council that the five toilets in the town cost in the region of £80,000 a year to run and that it planned to make closures to save money.

When someone posted the news on Facebook on Thursday, many people commented, raising questions of people not having the right change, people giving up on the toilets altogether and urinating outside, and disabled usage.

The disabled toilet will remain free and can be accessed using a Radar key, which can be bought by Blue Badge holders from the Quay House council offices in Kingsbridge for £2.35.

A spokesman for South Hams Council said: 'In setting recent budgets, the council has had to make some extremely tough decisions.

'The public toilet service is ­discretionary and costs the council almost £1m a year.

'It is, however, an extremely valued front-line service that needs to be provided innovatively in order to be cost-effective.

'We have recently consulted with all communities and town and parish councils in respect of the public toilet service. Kingsbridge and Dartmouth were proactive in looking at how toilets in their areas will be able to cover some of the costs of running the service.'

Cllr Gilbert said: 'These pilots have been designed in consultation with the community and with the support of the town councils so the service can be protected.

'Instead of closing toilets or reducing opening hours, this was thought to be the best solution.

'We'll monitor regularly how the system is working and report back to the council next year.'

Kingsbridge mayor Wayne Grills said: 'We've known about this for a while, it isn't a surprise. Toilets are a costly service for the district council and this will go some way to securing the future of the entire district's toilet facilities.

'Kingsbridge, along with Dartmouth and Bigbury, is part of a pilot scheme to see what the charging will do. It is reversible if it fails, but if it's successful we're likely to see the charging system across the South Hams.

'I would urge everyone to stick with this – it would be a shame if every toilet shut its doors in the same way that other district councils have done.'