WEST Somerset Council has watered down plans to close public toilets from September next year and instead pledged to do all it can to keep facilities open.

The authority had faced a barrage of complaints from residents, parish and town councillors over proposals to save money by closing toilets.

The situation was exacerbated when letters were sent out of the blue to parish and town councils last month, warning them their toilets could be closed temporarily this winter.

But at Tuesday's meeting of the full council, district councillors insisted the end of the current toilet maintenance contract next year would merely be a starting point on the future provision of conveniences and not the death knell for public facilities.

Councillors agreed to start a three-year "process" in an attempt to keep public conveniences open by either finding more money in council coffers or by handing over responsibility for individual toilet facilities to respective parish and town councils.

However, the thorny issue of temporary winter closures to save money remains on the agenda and is due to be debated by cabinet members next month.

Tuesday's toilet closure debate was part of wider discussions on the district council's plans to transfer a range of services to parish and town councils, dubbed devolution and delegation.

Under the scheme, responsibility for services such as street cleaning, litter and dog bins, grounds maintenance and free car parking, as well as public conveniences, could transfer from the district authority to the towns and parishes as part of the district's ongoing battle to try and save £1.5 million between now and 2015.

Cllr Kate Kravis, the council's lead member for finance, reiterated that the proposals were far from set in stone and appeared angered by criticism levelled at the authority by parish councillors at the start of the meeting.

Last week, the Free Press reported Porlock Parish Council's concerns that the delegation and devolution process was being railroaded through and fears its councillors' views were being ignored.

A delegation of parish and town councillors from both Porlock and Dulverton spoke animatedly at the full council meeting and said they did believe the district had taken into account the full cost implications of its proposals on parish and town councils.

Porlock Parish Council chairman Cllr Alan Wright branded devolution and delegation as a "shambolic process" and said he did not have confidence in councillors to deliver viable proposals.

His colleagues David Britnell, Kim Rowe and Malcolm McCoy were equally scathing and said that, although they would be willing to work with the council, they felt their views were falling on deaf ears.

"You have treated our response with silence and contempt," Mrs Rowe said.

They were supported by fellow councillors from Dulverton when they argued that devolution and delegation should include all services - especially the ownership and operation of local car parks.

Dulverton's Chris Nelder, Les Silverlock and Christine Dubery said they had been "devastated" by the way the district council had approached devolution and delegation.

Cllr Nelder said many services could be delivered better and cheaper by local parish and town councils, but he said money would have to come from somewhere to cover the additional costs.

Dulverton Town Council already operates its district council-owned car parks under a rental agreement with the district authority, but Cllr Nelder said the ownership should be transferred as well.

The parish and town councillors said it was vital more consultation was carried out before any decisions were taken.

Cllr Kravis accepted devolution and delegation was a "huge task" and that the process was far from finished.

She said the district council was trying to work with the parishes to save services, rather than issuing a mandate for cuts and said concerns could only be resolved by getting together and talking.

She said she was particularly upset by accusations that the authority was not consulting and not listening as both district councillors and officers had already spent many hours visiting every parish and town council in the district.

"We've stuck our neck out with this and I don't know of any other council that has gone to every parish and town council in the district to talk to them for two or three hours at a time.

"It is a shame that commitment is being somewhat unrecognised by the public speakers.

"We are doing it because we are trying to maintain local services and we are trying to work together.

"This subject is a big subject and we recognise that to do this right is going to take quite a little bit longer," Cllr Kravis said.

Defending the council's consultation process to date, she quoted extensively from an officers' report on the topic of devolution and delegation, which repeatedly stressed that "dialogue remained open with all parish and town councils".

The report by finance chief Graham Carne said:

"As part of a package of services to be delivered within a certain parish or town, it is possible that West Somerset Council could save money by delegating responsibility to the next most local tier, without simply 'cost shunting' to the parish.

"Proposals are not fully developed with all parishes for approval to be given by council at this stage, for every scheme that may impact on every parish.

"However, this report does seek approval of those identified changes to service that have been agreed in principle with the relevant parishes, that may impact on parish and town council precepts in 2012/13.

There may be further proposals for council to consider in later months, but these are not yet fully developed with parishes and towns.

"Any later proposals are unlikely to impact on the 2012/13 parishes' precepts, but take effect in later years."

Council leader Cllr Tim Taylor said the report was simply trying to set out a clear path for future consultation.

Others, led by Cllrs Keith Ross and Jon Freeman, argued it was premature and should not be debated at all.

But despite a number of attempts to have the paper amended, watered down or thrown out completely, the majority of councillors supported the recommendations.

They agreed "in principle" to Minehead Town Council taking over the ownership and maintenance of both Wellington Square and Blenheim Gardens and for assets to be valued before any deals were struck.

They also voted in principle to allow Stogumber Parish Council to take ownership and responsibility for free parking spaces opposite the village pub.

Councillors were told Crowcombe Parish Council had declined an invitation to take responsibility for the district-council owned free car park near the village church.

The majority of members also voted to introduce a policy stipulating that all paid-for car parks should remain in district council ownership.

The vote effectively put an end to bids by Dulverton Town Council and Porlock Parish Council to take over the ownership of their respective car parks.

Cllr Kravis said the decision did not mean an end to talks about town and parishes operating car parks.

All councillors gave their support to an additional recommendation put forward by Porlock district councillor Jon Freeman, based on a suggestion from Porlock Parish Council member Kim Rowe.

They agreed that the district should "continue to openly and actively engage and work without further pre-conditions with parish and town councils to develop proposals to implement devolution and delegation that reflect joint financial imperatives and the needs and priorities of local communities".