VILLAGERS are to have a say in whether their parish council takes over the only public toilets in Pewsey or lets them close.

However, council chairman Alex Carder has warned that if the village wants to keep the toilets it would put £6 a year on every council tax bill.

He told the parish council meeting on Tuesday that a public meeting is to be held in the Bouverie Hall on June 15, at 7.30pm, to decide whether the loos remain open.

As part of a cost cutting exercise, Kennet District Council is to stop running the majority of its public conveniences, including the toilets in Pewsey's North Street car park.

The parish council has been offered the chance to take over the toilets and Kennet has offered to give the freehold of the building to the village.

To continue to employ Kennet's cleaners for twice a day visits would cost the parish council £9,000 a year. Another possibility that would halve running costs would be to close the gents and keep a unisex toilet open.

Coun Carder said: "All the people I have spoken to say they want to keep the toilets open and are willing to pay towards it but whether they will be willing to pay £6 extra a year on their council tax remains to be seen."