THERE is a long-running (and totally unacceptable) health and safety issue concerning the public toilets in the Chantry Centre.

For most of this year, in the gents lavatory, only one (of two) handdryers has been serviceable, and no attempt has been made to repair/replace the failed unit. About a month ago, the one remaining hand-drier also failed – on August 10 there was a manuscript instruction (on A5 notepaper) attached to one of the u/s hand-dryers, entreating people to dry their hands with toilet paper.

For over a month this public convenience has totally lacked its handdrying facility, which raise a further significant health and safety matter namely, that if folk cannot dry their hands after washing, they are much less likely to wash them in the first place.

Within TVBC, is there not a little ‘satrapy’ whose remit is the control of ‘public health’ issues? The operation of the Chantry Centre ‘conveniences’ appears to markedly lack an effective supervisory overview.

Paddy Keenan, Ward Close, Andover

 

AT VARIOUS times I read in the Andover Advertiser the need to attract visitors to the town.

This is often so they can sample the delights of the local shops. However, if on arriving in the town the gentlemen need to use the Chantry Centre toilets they will discover that the hand dryers are out of use.

Indeed one has not worked since May and the second one not for the last month. Andover has a Chantry Centre manager, a town centre manager, Test Valley councillors purporting to represent Andover wards (each claiming £6,000+ per year) yet no one capable of organising hand dryers that work.

I expect over the coming weeks those mentioned above will write to the paper with long detailed reasons why they are not responsible for hand dryers. Shop owners should not be surprised that few visitors to the town make a second visit.

Peter Watkins, Floral Way, Andover

 

Editor’s note: The Advertiser put these criticisms to the Chantry Centre, who said Test Valley Borough Council was responsible for the upkeep of the toilets.

A spokesman for TVBC said: “The council was notified on August 11, that there was a technical fault with the hand dryers in one of the male toilets in the shopping centre. A council officer visited the site to try to fix the dryers, however this was not possible. New dryers have now been installed.”