A SOUTH Craven village is bucking the trend with its newly refurbished public toilets.

The Cross Hills conveniences have been reopened following an around £159,000 refurbishment and, hopes the parish council, will provide residents and visitors with first-class facilities for at least the next 30 years.

The toilets and urinals are right up to date - they are flushed using filtered rainwater from the building's extended flat roof, and there are also solar panels to operate the lights, which are controlled by motion sensor switches. They are also accessible by those with disabilities.

The toilet block, in the East Keltus part of the village, were purchased by the parish council in 2018 when the former Craven District Council started disposing of its public toilets.

Already in a poor condition then, a compete refurbishment was clearly necessary said Councillor Mike Ashdown, chair of Glusburn and Cross Hills Parish Council.

"Due to a lack of maintenance in previous decades the toilets needed expensive intervention to keep them functioning at all and, despite daily cleaning, remained decidedly unpleasant to use," he said.

Refurbishment of the toilets makes the completion of a trio of planned improvements to the village centre, which has been carried out over a few years, as funds have allowed.

The toilet block in the heart of the village's shopping area and next to the busy A6068, is easily accessible to all.

"The village, with close to 2,000 households, most of who shop from time to time, at some of the village’s 40 businesses will be much better served by this new facility," he said.

"There are also many visitors, recreational cyclists and walking groups who stop on their way to other destinations and many school students using the village centre as well.

"As our name suggests many important roads meet at Cross Hills. It’s a busy place."

Investing in a modern, refurbished toilet block aligned with the needs and interests of individuals, visitors, local businesses, community groups and other village centre stakeholders.

Almost half of the cost of the work was paid for thanks to a £71, 000 grant from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund as part of its Building Pride in our Places Grants Programme.

The work started in early July and involved the partial demolition of the existing block.

The refurbished block was officially handed over to the parish council on October 25 with a toilet-roll cutting ceremony instead of a ribbon.

The toilets are free to use and are open every day from 7am to 8pm, and are closed at night.

Cllr Ashdown added: "Our thanks go out to RBS Architects of Shipley, ADNC Construction (Skipton) Ltd, North Yorkshire Council (UKSPF) and of course, our community for putting up with the necessary footway closures during the rebuild, but we trust the result delivers a much improved, pleasant and adaptable facility, for everyone, for the 30 years of its projected lifespan."