RYDE Town Council has announced it will begin to re-open public toilets in the town today (Saturday) ­— starting with Appley Beach.

With the loosening of lockdown restrictions, the town council are working to re-open the facilities and have undertaken risk assessments to ensure they can do so safely.

The town council took the decision to close the toilets in Ryde on health and safety grounds at the end on March, in light of the Covid 19 pandemic lockdown.

The staff responsible for managing health and safety for the conveniences were redeployed to help with community emergency response.

Public conveniences at Appley Beach will be re-opened today, while the remaining facilities are due to re-open on Monday.

A spokesperson for Ryde Town Council said: "We have implemented measures within the toilet blocks to enable social distancing.

"Therefore, only two members of the public will be permitted inside each block at any one time.

"We have also arranged for an increased cleaning regime and introduced additional signage to remind users to wash their hands thoroughly.

"We respectfully request that all users of the public conveniences adhere to the guidelines that will be displayed at each site.

"The Town Council’s primary concern is to ensure public safety and not increase the risk of spreading the Covid 19 virus.

"We will regularly review the situation and will issue further updates if necessary."

Some town councils, meanwhile, have decided to keep their public toilets shut to avoid any 'unnecessary risk'.

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