WOMEN have condemned plans for unisex loos at a new council building as “horrendous”.

Critics say they are horrified by the proposals for the £2m Gateway project in Ringwood.

The project will provide a one-stop shop for services provided by New Forest District Council, Hampshire County Council and Ringwood Town Council Ladies Forum chairman Shirley Tobias said: “Men’s loos are historically grubbier than women’s and are prone to flooding and all sorts. The idea is unnecessary and horrendous.”

But New Forest council head of environment services Colin Read defended the project.

He said: “We did a lot of research on the issue of unisex toilets including visiting and speaking to other councils where this arrangement has been used successfully.

“The reason for the unisex cubicles is to maximise the use of the facility, which means that both men and women at any one time have access to a larger number of cubicles, which is really beneficial where you have large groups of single sex visitors.”