VILLAGERS have been told they won’t have to look elsewhere to spend a penny after town hall bosses overlooked a £78,750 deal for public conveniences.

Parish councillors in Barrowford were keen to safeguard the future of the Fleece public toilets, at the corner of Church Street and Gisburn Road.

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And they asked Pendle Council if it could be transferred to the village authority for the nominal sum of £1.

But council chiefs had received a tender of more than £78,000 for the building, which has been mothballed since the end of March 2014 as part of a borough-wide review.

Councillors sitting on the borough’s executive however decided to transfer the toilets to the parish council, or any other interested party, in a deal which would protect the site for 10 years.

Cllr Linda Crossley, who represents Barrowford ward on the borough council, said: “I am delighted at this decision because the toilets have been closed for some time now.

“They were very well-used by people visiting the village and cyclists. I’m a member of Barrowford in Bloom and I was always amazed by how many people would stop off there while we working on displays nearby.”

Philip Mousdale, the council’s corporate director, had said in a report: “The officer view is that as the conveniences have now been closed for over 18 months, there have been two public tendering exercises and the size of the capital receipt, the council should proceed with the disposal to the highest tender.”

An initial tendering exercise by the borough council only prompted a best offer of £40,150 – but when the block was re-advertised the improved bid of £78,750 emerged.

When the prospect was first raised, the parish council indicated it would not be in a financial position to take on the task. But an approach was made to the borough on June 18, with a formal request to take over the management.

l The toilets stand on the site of the Fleece Inn, which was demolished when Church Street was widened in the 1930s.