The future of a public loo has triggered a civil war between villagers and their ‘autocratic’ Parish Council regime.
Last year, residents in leafy Meopham, Kent, were blindsided when their elusive and ‘belligerent’ 11 councillors closed and voted to demolish the public toilets.
But locals claim they have been totally ignored and what has followed has been a vicious war of words, explosive and expletive-ridden parish council meetings, thousands spent on surveys and polls and the prospect of a gender neutral toilet being installed.
‘It beggars belief, our parish council makes Dibley parish council look like Gods’, says resident James Ferrin, 47, referencing the backward rural village in BBC sitcom The Vicar of Dibley.
The advertising agency boss added: ‘There is nothing wrong with the toilets, they’re solid. Meopham Parish Council has been quite a toxic council for years. At the meeting in December when they chose to demolish there were only six councillors present.
‘None of them spoke really apart from the chair, Cheryl Price. I’ve watched other councillors try to speak and they can’t get a word in edgeways. They are in an absolute mess, the meetings got heated.
‘At the last meeting a gentleman said he believed the chairman of the parish council was acting in an autocratic manner and I think he was spot on. There is now pride involved, I think there is blinkered belligerence.
‘It’s probably time Cheryl steps down. She is very involved with lots of different things in the parish but having been to meetings it is only really ever her that is doing the talking.
‘I get the feeling the Parish Council are not willing to admit that maybe they have got it wrong.’
The loos on Pitfield Green were built in 1958 and overlook Meopham Green, where cricket is played in the shadow of a 19th century Grade II listed smock mill in what residents say is England at its best.
The public bogs, which feature gents, female and disabled cubicles, were closed in April last year following a budget-setting meeting the previous December.
The parish council argued the loos were ‘unfit for purpose’ with possible asbestos present and running costs spiralling to £60 per visit.
That figure emerged following the installation of a footfall sensor between October 2023 and March last year which recorded just 52 users but locals say the equipment was faulty and often switched off.
When a surveyor came to inspect the brick block he reportedly didn’t even go inside and despite a Parish Poll in June 2024 showing 569 residents were in favour of re-opening the loos, with just 35 against, six parish councillors doubled down.
Parishioners erupted in fury as chair Cheryl Price ordered the block’s demolition and the construction of a single gender neutral accessible toilet, which will be built once funding and planning permission is granted.
David Rose, 73, who has been active in campaigning to stop the demolition and argues for a refurb, says the saga has exposed a sinister regime at the heart of Meopham.
He told : ‘How can six people take that decision when you’ve got nearly 600 who have voted in the opposite direction.
‘I’ve never known a councillor to knock on the door in the 38 years we’ve been here.
‘We were allowed to say virtually nothing at all, the chairman of the council said “I would propose we knock down the toilet and get a unisex, standalone toilet. Accepted by six councillors”.
‘We think it’s crazy. We can’t really understand the cost benefits of it. They say it’s going to cost £15,000 just to knock them down.’
Mr Rose denied the issue was a storm in a teacup, adding: ‘It runs deeper than that. They ask your opinion, you get it, they waste £3000 carrying out the poll, then ignore it.’
Resident Richard Akister added: ‘In their public statements the council continue to quote the flawed statistics as though they are the truth.
‘The council decided to demolish the building at an estimated cost of £12,500. At the same time they proposed to kick the can down the road and consider spending up to £30,000 on a new single unit “accessible” toilet.
‘Rather than spend some money on updating the existing building they talk of spending well over £40,000 on some future facility which might, or might not, be built.’
The decision has been met with anger among many who say the loos don’t just serve the community but also delivery drivers, walkers and people passing through the village, which, at seven miles long, is is one of the longest in Europe.
While a sign directs those needing to relieve themselves to a toilet at Camer Park – a two mile walk – the closure has allegedly resulted in men urinating up against the back wall of the building.
Bill Broughton, 75, added: ‘If you are desperate for a toilet, you’re not going to walk 2/3 miles. I can’t really see the business model of it.
‘You’ve got something that seems perfectly serviceable, to knock it down and build something which is going to cost money and it’s still got the same service costs.’
Wife Jenny, 69, added: ‘I don’t like the idea of unisex loo. I’m old fashioned like that.’
The council has been accused of wasting thousands in public money on the ordeal, with the parish poll reportedly costing over £4,000 and vast sums spent on surveys.
Local pubs are currently offering toilet facilities while the saga continues.
Julie Healey said parish councillors have dealt with the row ‘poorly’ and worries about UK taxpayers’ cash being frittered away by a handful of concerningly powerful parish councillors.
She said: ‘Sixty odd grand. I didn’t think they particularly needed to be rebuilt. They don’t even want to reconsider it.
‘We will probably wake up one morning and it’ll be gone.’
Meopham Parish Council said the abuse levelled at councillors, particularly Cheryl Price, both in person and on social media, is ‘unacceptable’ and refuted the claim they are an ‘autocratic leadership’
Lisa Winter, clerk & responsible financial officer, said: ‘The business case for retaining the existing toilet block was weak given the capital expenditure required to bring it up to current standards. The Parish Council therefore took the decision to demolish the existing block and explore installing a replacement unit, thereby maintaining toilet provision in the parish but at a reduced cost to the taxpayer.
‘The Parish Council has been greatly concerned by the unacceptable comments made on social media and in public meetings, against individual parish councillors particularly our Chairman of Council.
‘We respect residents are entitled to their opinions on local issues, but we do not accept that personal slurs need to be made against individuals, especially given that all councillors are volunteers who give their time freely for the good of the community.
‘We also refute the claim that this decision has been because of ‘autocratic leadership’, the decisions on the toilet block were taken as a corporate body with a majority of councillors voting in favour of closure.’