The Yorkshire Dales authority has found savings elsewhere

A national park authority’s latest news will be a relief to walkers and outdoor enthusiasts.

All of the Yorkshire Dales public loos will be kept open – for this financial year at least.

There were fears that budget cuts would lead to the closure of two of the authority-run 10 public toilets, but the audit and review committee has found savings elsewhere so the conveniences can remain in service.

Committee member Nick Thwaite said: “We have worked hard to identify alternative savings to prevent closure of any of our loos at the present time, which we think people will be very happy about.

“One of the things that has helped has been the fact that we could reduce planned maintenance on them because they are now at a very high standard and don’t need the same level of refurbishment as they did in previous years.

“But we mustn’t be complacent – we will need to continue to keep this up and see if we can identify further ‘in-year’ savings – despite rising costs – so we can keep them open in future years too.”

Last December the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority took some of the top positions in the national annual Loo of the Year Awards for the second year running.

Judges in the competition – which attracted more than1,300 entries – gave the loo at the Aysgarth National Park Centre a top, five-star rating and put the other nine at Buckden, Grassington, Linton Falls, Malham, Stainforth, Horton, Clapham, Kettlewell and Hawes in the four-star category.