CHEPSTOW Town Councillors will discuss plans tonight (27th November) to provide a public convenience at the town's bus station.

The council has earmarked a figure of £26,500 which could be backed up with a figure of £14,028 from Monmouthshire County Council, to fund one of three options proposed for the facility.

Option one will cost more than £8,000 per year and would see the council taking on an empty shop unit in Thomas Street Arcade, opposite Co-op, converting it into a public convenience with waiting room facilities.

This option has potential for problems when the freeholder is approached for a change of use on the building.

The second option considers using the toilets at the Rainbow Café on Moor Street. However, now closed, the building will need to be staffed in order to be a viable option. Meetings have been held with the council and trustees of Churches Together, who manage the building, and the option will be discussed further tonight.

The third option to be discussed is the temporary conversion and use of a residential one bedroom flat on Thomas Street at a price of £5,500 per annum.

Councillors will aim to agree on one of the three options at the meeting.

The need for a public convenience at the bus station has been emphasised over the past weeks after the town council received a letter from Chepstow Methodist Church, claiming that the public's increased use of the private toilets at the church is costing the church around £500 each year.

"As there is no toilet at the bus station, our toilet facilities have been and are increasingly used by the general public, bus passengers (and bus drivers) at a considerable cost to the church," said John Westlake of the church's property team.

"In addition, when our premises are closed, some members of the general public (mainly males) urinate etc, outside our side entrance door or round in the passageway at the back of the church. Our current estimate of the additional cost of cleaning and maintaining the toilets, and cleaning the outside area is £500 per year.

"We would therefore ask that, until you are in a position to provide toilet facilities for the travelling public at Chepstow Bus Station, you might like to consider contributing towards the cost of providing these facilities at our church".

Council will meet to discuss the three options at the Gatehouse, Chepstow at 7pm tonight (Wednesday).