A north London council has been accused of "flushing taxpayers' money down the toilet" by splurging on costly heated loo seats for its town hall.
Waltham Forest Council has installed 12 of the "fancy" loos at its Town Hall and Assembly Hall - costing a total of £7,632.
Conservative London Assembly Member Emma Best shared her bewilderment on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday, describing the unusual purchase as "a slap in the face" for residents who have recently seen council tax bills soar.
Mr Best, who is deputy leader of City Hall Conservatives and leader of Waltham Forest Conservatives, shared photos of the loos, which also act as bidets.
A control panel affixed to the wall can be used to adjust the temperature of the seat, and the motions and temperature of jets of water.
"Labour is flushing taxpayers' money down the toilet with these high-tech, heated and totally unnecessary loos in a restricted area of the Town Hall predominately used for Council business," Ms Best told the Standard.
The new toilets at Waltham Forest Town Hall are pretty fancy.
— Emma Best AM (@emmabest22) January 11, 2024
Maybe I missed something but I’m not sure heated seats for Councillors to do their business was top of residents wish list when Labour raised Council Tax last year 🤷🏼♀️ pic.twitter.com/rwdUhKIGm3
"It's a slap in the face for residents who saw their council tax rise again this year and is typical of Labour's warped priorities and wasteful spending."
Ms Best also pointed out the loos appeared to be difficult to use and lacking instruction.
Waltham Forest Council acknowledged that at £636 each the loo seats, installed two years ago, "cost considerably more than a standard toilet seat and bidet".
It added the swanky conveniences are part of a bid to improve the town hall as an events space.
Responding to Mr Best's post on X, Jaymey McIvor, Conservative Epping Forest district councillor, said sarcastically: "It’s exactly what residents tell me they want on the doorstep…What. A. Joke."
Gillian Fearon wrote: "Unfortunately the standard waste of tax money from our LA. Nothing changes!"Chris Whitehead added the loos "need lots of maintenance [and] have high installation costs" compared to regular ones.
"Those 'Japanese' WCs are fantastic. No doubt about it but hugely expensive," he wrote. "We don't put them in office toilets.
"Most WCs don't need an electrical supply to them. Lots of things to go wrong too and you almost need a training session on how to use them. Fabulous things but relatively fragile."
A Waltham Forest Council spokesperson said: "We are committed to ensuring our facilities are accessible to everyone and these toilets are more comfortable for people with a number of conditions.
“But as well as being a place of council business, Waltham Forest Town Hall serves as a public events space, including for citizenship ceremonies, and as a wedding venue.
“We accept that, at £636 each to buy, these seats cost considerably more than a standard toilet seat, however this has been part of our overall long-term strategy to optimise income generation from our beautiful buildings.
“We believe it is working, since the refurbishment we’ve seen bookings as a wedding venue bring in £210,000 last year, and up to the same period this year we’ve already seen an increase of 22%. And on top of that we’ve had lots of gratitude from our guests and visitors, who have understood why we have them and have appreciated our approach.”
They added: “As with any capital works, the money has come out of the council’s capital fund and would not have resulted in any increase in council tax.”
