CLOSING toilets in Oxford in a bid to save cash is a “knee-jerk” reaction which will lead to people urinating in the street, a parish councillor has claimed.

Oxford City Council is looking to save £50,000 a year by closing up to seven of the city’s 26 public toilets. Facilities in Castle Street, Magdalen Street, St Giles, Woodstock Road, South Parade, Barns Road, Littlemore, Knights Road and Headington Hill are all under threat of being sold off or demolished.

But Littlemore parish councillor Dorian Hancock last night warned closing the toilets would cause residents “great inconvenience” and not help the city in the long term. Mr Hancock said: “This is a knee-jerk decision to save money quickly, but it simply won’t work in the long run. People need public toilets.

“We have all been caught short before and it is then when you realise how vital a commodity a public toilet is.

“There are plenty of shops and restaurants in Oxford which will let people use their facilities.

“It’s the places on the outskirts of the city that have the biggest need.”

The council wants to turn the public toilets in Gloucester Green into a “world-class” facility, which could cost up to £500,000.

Work would be financed by selling off the closed toilets.

Mr Hancock said: “We already see people urinating and doing much worse in alleyways around the city, which is both disgusting and illegal.

“If we start closing down toilets, can you imagine how much worse this problem is going to become?

“Surely any savings the council has made will be negated by the cost of cleaning up this mess.

“I do feel sorry for publicans around here who are bombarded by people asking to use their facilities. Some ask for people to buy something, meaning using the toilet can cost up to £1.50 a time, which is expensive by anybody’s standards.”

People could be charged between 20p and 50p to use the refurbished toilets, the council has said.

Also, community toilet schemes, where businesses let the public use their toilets, could soon operate in Oxford if traders agree.

John Tanner, executive board member for a cleaner, greener Oxford, said: “My hope is that our review of public toilets will lead to more public toilets that the public can use, not fewer.

“We may have to close some toilets, including Littlemore, but they are not well used and we have to make sure every pound we spend on public toilets, like everything else, is well used.”

A public consultation into the plans has now been extended until the council’s executive board meets on October 14.