SPENDING a penny in Monkton Park will now cost you 20p, as Chippenham Town Council adds a new charge to help keep the public toilets running.

Councillors agreed to bring in the charge last week, to match the other public toilets in the bus station in Timber Street and the toilets in Bath Road car park.

The charge on the toilets, which were taken on by the town council after Wiltshire Council threatened to close them on April 1 last year, will also help pay for the maintenance and running costs of the facilities.

Councillor Desna Allen, chairman of the amenities, culture and leisure committee at Chippenham Town Council, said: “The 20p charge is necessary to keep these vital facilities open, clean and safe to use.”

Earlier this year, Chippenham Town Council trialled the charge on the Bath Road toilets as a way of curbing anti-social behaviour there.

Disabled users will be able to get a key to use the adapted toilets from customer services at the Town Hall.