Villagers are at war with a parish council preparing to demolish an “iconic” toilet block against the will of the people.

Some living in Meopham have gone as far as to label it a “scandal” and brand their local authority an “autocratic dictatorship” following a decision to knock down the “vital” loos opposite Pitfield Green.

It comes despite hundreds of people voting in a poll — requested by petitioners and held at the taxpayers’ request — for the lavatory to be reopened.

But Meopham Parish Council, which shut the block more than nine months ago, says the toilets are “unfit for purpose” and need a £50,000 facelift to bring them up to standard.

They also claim heated discussions over the restrooms have turned “personal” with “unacceptable comments” made and slurs cast against members who are volunteers.

Councillors voted last month to bulldoze the facility, built by the Billings family in the 1950s, and say they are exploring the option of replacing it with a single unisex toilet.

But the decision has been met with village outcry including calls for council chairman, Cheryl Price, to step down at a full council meeting held on Tuesday, January 21.

More than 30 villagers rallied at the toilets to protest the council’s decision on Friday (January 24).

James Ferrin, who organised the meet, told KentOnline the council was acting as an “autocratic dictatorship” because it has ignored a public poll in favour of the toilets remaining open.

The 47-year-old said: “There is massive public support about keeping these toilets open as you've seen from the amount of people that showed up today.

“The council is not listening to what the people want which is the toilet reopened. Dibley parish council puts our council to shame.

“The community needs the toilets as people walk in the area and the delivery drivers who might need the loo.

“I would rather them have access to the toilets than urinate up my wall.

“There is nothing in concrete and I think we all know the new toilet will never happen.”

A decision was taken by the authority to shut the loos on April 1 and a row has been ongoing ever since.

The parish council claimed the loos “aren’t well used” and the cost of bringing them up to speed would be in excess of £50,000 with further costs for maintenance for burst pipes escalating into the tens of thousands of pounds.

The exact number of people who use the site is not known but a footfall counter was installed between October 2022 and March 2023 and 52 visits were recorded in that period.

At 250 visits the cost per visit was calculated as being £60.71.

There are also several nearby toilets for villagers, including one at Costa Coffee and Minel Meze & Grill on the green.

Nevertheless, villagers demanded a vote in May, which took place a month later and cost the council between £10,000 and £15,000.

Some 605 people turned out to the non-legally binding vote – 11.42% of the village. Of those, 569 supported reopening the toilets, and 35 opposed it.

The council commissioned a survey covering the outside building which was published in December – before councillors voted on what it should do with the facility.

Templar Consultants, which carried out the review, provided three options for councillors to agree on.

One of these was refurbishing the existing structure and fabric, and modernising the installations which it quoted at £28,400.

The second option was to demolish the building and fully rebuild the toilet provision which it says would cost £68,000.

Another way of dealing with the issue was to strip the building and find another use for it – at the cost of £12,500.

Councillors went against public opinion and agreed to demolish the loos and the survey showed a “weak business case” for keeping it open.

The council told KentOnline it has “structural concerns” about the facility which has “asbestos” and “ageing pipework” which would require replacement.

It says it is also “investigating” opening a new single-unit unisex accessible toilet.

However, this would be subject to the parish council getting planning permission to install it as well as getting the necessary funding from Gravesham council.

It says this new toilet will reduce operating costs and meet modern accessibility requirements but could cost between £20,000 and £30,000 depending on the specification.

We are going to fight this and we're going to fight it all the way

Max Bramer, 76, who has lived in the village for more than 40 years, says knocking down the loos just to build a new one is “nonsense”.

The former chairperson of admin and resources of Meopham Parish Council also disputes the findings of the council survey.

He said: “It says there is no access for disabled people but there is a disabled toilet at the back of the building.

“The reports say there are only two entrances when there are three. It is rubbish.”

Meanwhile, Ian Cleary, who has lived in Meopham for 27 years, has attended council meetings over the last 14 months to keep up with the case’s developments.

The former firefighter says he is prepared to fight against the closure of what he calls the “iconic” toilets.

The 59-year-old said: “It serves our parish and probably more importantly it serves visitors to our parish.

“They're spending money in our community, they're using our pubs, they're using our coffee shops so we need to provide these facilities.

“We are going to fight this and we're going to fight it all the way. It is a scandal that they want to knock it down.

“The footfall counter was also used at the wrong time of year when the summer months it is much busier.”

David Rose, who has lived in Hadley Close for 38 years, believes it could cost more to knock it down than carry out the refurbishments.

The 73-year-old former senior production manager said: “All the money that has been spent on the matter could have been put into carrying out the work.

“Plus people do not want a unisex toilet, especially older women.”

He pointed to a government law change in May that means new non-domestic buildings are required to provide separate single-sex toilets for women and men.

This was made off the back of a consultation where concerns were raised about the increasing change of public toilets to gender-natural facilities.

These were mainly from women, the elderly and the disabled who felt unfairly disadvantaged as they found there was an increase in waiting in shared queues, decreased choice and less privacy and dignity.

Litter pickers from Culverstone, Lesley Cawsely and Sherly Butler, both 67, had wanted to use the public loos when they reached the green but had to visit the restroom at The Cricketers Inn instead.

Both believe the public loos should be reopened.

Lesley said: “We are quite upset about the toilets because sometimes we need to go and it is vital not just for us but for everyone else who walks in the area.”

Council clerk and financial officer, Lisa Winter, says the body “refutes” the claims it is an “autocratic leadership” as its decisions have been voted on by councillors.

Lisa said that the authority is also “greatly concerned” by “unacceptable comments” made during public meetings and on social media that have been made against the council’s chairman.

She said: “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.”