NEW public toilets in Littlemore will now not open until next month after the refurbishment was delayed.

The toilets in Cowley Road are being revamped as part of a £450,000 Oxford City Council scheme to improve 21 toilets across the city.

But the Littlemore toilets, which were due to be reopened this month, will not be finished for about another three weeks after asbestos was discovered.

The removal of the dangerous insulation material meant work took longer due to safety concerns but it is not believed to have led to any extra costs.

The new facilities in Cowley Road are the last of the 21 in the scheme to be completed.

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Oxford City Council board member for the environment and Littlemore councillor John Tanner said: “The building will look the same on the outside but it will change inside.

“It used to be a traditional ladies and gents with lobbies but the new toilets will be totally different.

“There are two cubicles for both men and women which are directly accessible from outside on the street. One is a unisex cubicle and one is for people with disabilities and they will look very nice.”

“The old ones were clean and functional but they were very old.”

The investment in public toilets in Oxford has taken place over the past two years and was announced just four years after the city council voted to close seven public toilets in the city to save money.

The old toilets in Littlemore did not have disabled access.

Cowley Road resident Tom Bower welcomed the investment.

He said: “I must admit in 27 years of living here I have never been in them because I live too close by. But I think it is a good investment in general.”

“It is good if it benefits people who are passing through.”