WORK to give Watchet's Harbour Road public toilets a £15,000 make-over is due to get underway on Wednesday (February 20).

Uncertainty hung over the long-term future of one of the town's two toilet blocks as owner West Somerset Council grappled to make savings.

But a new partnership with Watchet Town Council has resulted in both sets of loos remaining open and a refurbishment of the outdated Harbour Road facilities.

Town councillors were told at their meeting on Monday that the upgrade would take up to six weeks to complete, during which the toilets would be closed.

Signs would be put up to direct users to the Market Street facilities, which would be open during the normal 'dawn to dusk' winter hours. During the closure, the Market Street loos will be free of charge.

The refurbishment will include the introduction of waterless units in the men's section, low water use facilities in the women's and integrated hand washer/dryers.

The toilet block will be repainted and reglazed and will open all year at no charge from 9am to 4pm in the winter and 9am to 7pm in the summer.

Although there will be no disabled facilities in Harbour Road, those in the Market Street block will be enhanced and open daily all year round.

Disabled people will be able to use them free of charge but there will be a 20p fee for all others, including those wanting to use the baby changing unit.

The town council is set to contribute £3,000 a year to the operating costs of both sets of public loos but savings are expected to be made through reduced water use and timed lighting.

Cllr John Irven, a member of a town council working group set up to look into the future of the toilets, said it was an exemplar collaborative partnership between the district and town councils to secure key ongoing public facilities for Watchet.

And district council corporate manager Steve Watts said the two councils would continue to assess ways in which operating costs could be reduced.

"I am grateful for the co-operation and approach which has led us to this solution," said Mr Watts.

He added he wanted to apologise for any inconvenience during the refurbishment work.