I FOUND it quite ironic to read that John Tanner is now promoting the need for loos in Oxford (Oxford Mail, March 15).

I wrote to him more than a year ago about the lack of them in the city centre and all I received was a glib reply saying he was sorry that I was “inconvenienced”.

Ask any woman shopping in the city centre on a Saturday and they will tell you that the queues for the ladies loos can be horrendous, plus in the major stores they are on upper floors.

Goodness knows how parents with small children manage.

Oxford needs new, centrally located, well signed, clean toilets.

Forget about displaying front pages of newspapers and paperback novels etc. inside, all that is needed is for the loos to be clean and accessible.

If they are situated in a shopping area, then they could be closed when the shops close and thus reduce the likelihood of vandalism.

Northampton, Aylesbury, Banbury, Milton Keynes (to name a few) all provide free, centrally located, clean toilets within the shopping areas. If Oxford needs to charge, then 20-30p is reasonable, 50p is too much.

Also, Oxford promotes tourism and is happy with the revenue it brings but the lack of good facilities must give tourists a poor impression of the city.

S BELL (Mrs), Coopers Green, Bicester