Council spend more than a penny for lavish opening.

Byline: David James 

IT will be a grand opening with dignitaries, a ceremonial key and a lunch at St David's Hall... all to mark the refurbishment of a public toilet.

Cardiff's oldest public conveniences will tomorrow be re-opened by the city's Lord Mayor Brian Griffiths and a descendant of the former Lord Mayor who first opened them 111 years ago.

Residents and visitors have been relieving themselves in the underground Victorian facilities since 1898 when the then town council decided to build them as Cardiff's first public toilets.

Over the last seven weeks, they have been refurbished at a cost of pounds 148,000 by Keep Wales Tidy after the British Toilet Association found they were in "very poor condition with no hot water".

Coun Griffiths will be accompanied by Rodney Perkins who still has the ceremonial key given to his great-grandfather Lord Mayor Joseph Ramsdale when the toilets were first opened.

The event was organised by the council after Mr Perkins read about the refurbishment in the Echo and contacted us to explain his links to the loos.

He will be travelling from his home in Milford Haven, West Wales, for the event.

After they have performed whatever civic duties they feel necessary, along with the representatives of Keep Wales Tidy who managed the "restoration project" Coun Griffiths and Mr Perkins will retire to the Asaph Room of St David's Hall where "the official opening will be followed by speeches and lunch".

All the leaders of the four political groups on Cardiff council have been invited to attend.

The expense on the opening of a public toilet has raised some criticism at City Hall.

Independent Jayne Cowan said: "This toilet has a lot of history attached to it in the city and I am pleased that it has been refurbished for residents and visitors to use.

"I think, however, to offer lunch and after proceedings in St David's Hall is definitely a step too far in this difficult economic climate."

The council, which decided to hold the event after the Echo passed on Mr Perkins' details, said it was using grant funding to put on a buffet for 25 people to mark the event.

The Hayes toilets were singled out earlier this year in a council scrutiny committee report which criticised the state and lack of public conveniences in Cardiff.

A council scrutiny report also found the facilities were prone to vandalism, lacked hot water and that police were "called out at least once a month to the toilets... for incidents of indecent exposure and other sexual activities associated with public conveniences."

Plans to open the Hayes toilets at night have always been opposed by the city's police who have warned about the danger of assaults and anti-social behaviour.

The refurbishment was managed out by Keep Wales Tidy with funding from landfill tax credits, the Tidy Towns initiative and pounds 20,000 from Cardiff council.

The Hayes toilets have been closed for refurbishment