In response to the letter in last week’s Halstead Gazette from Geoff Willis regarding trying to encourage visitors to Halstead and the lack of public toilets.

I am writing as chairman of Halstead Chamber of Trade, but I also feel qualified to respond to Mr Willis’ letter as I am the owner of a group tour/travel company based in Halstead that has been trading for more than 10 years.

The nature of our business means we take our customers to several places of interest throughout the UK and public toilets are not a priority when choosing where to stop or visit.

Mr Willis is quite right in his statement that facilities are for the use of customers, that’s the whole point.

We want to encourage visitors to use the facilities of our cafes and bars etc in Halstead as we know from that 90 per cent of them will also then stop to purchase refreshments.

One of our own most popular trips each year is to visit Buckingham Palace.

There are no public toilets close to where coaches can legally drop off near the palace and once inside the palace, there are no toilets until you have completed the 90-minute tour of the palace state rooms and entered the palace gardens.

Therefore we always ensure we arrive at the drop off point near the palace in time for our customers to purchase refreshments and use the facilities in cafes.

Also, while our customers add to the income of those cafes, they will also spend time visiting other nearby shops and make purchases.

In my experience customers are happy to walk five minutes to find a café or bar, in preference over the use of a not always pleasant public toilet.

However, most coaches are also fitted with toilets in an emergency.

Coach companies are very good at directing their customers to suitable venues for refreshments with facilities etc as they will want their customers to enjoy their day out and book future trips with them.

Tracy Holdgate

Chairman, Halstead Chamber of Trade and Commerce Director, A&Tventures Ltd