Toilets at Wigan's Haigh Woodland Park have been shut for several weeks for refurbishment work

The WCs in the courtyard at Haigh Woodland Park closed on Monday June 15 so work can take place to refurbish them.

The revamp is expected to take around six weeks to complete, with visitors encouraged to use lavatories inside and behind the visitor centre, as well as portable toilets, while the work is carried out.

James Winterbottom, director of strategy and innovation at Wigan Council, said: "As part of the ongoing transformation project at Haigh Woodland Park, the courtyard toilets will temporarily close for six weeks to complete refurbishment works.

"Alternative and accessible toilets can be found nearby, so please bear with us while these necessary works take place and continue supporting our fabulous courtyard traders."

The condition of toilets at the park was highlighted last summer in a Facebook post on the Friends of Haigh Hall Heritage and Open Access For All Information Page.

The campaign group said that on a day when thousands of visitors attended an artisan market and other events at the park, only three cubicles were available in a block for women, with just two of them usable.

The post said: "The soap dispenser was broken, bins were overflowing, the floors were strewn with wet toilet paper and the smell was so bad that people were gagging in the queue.

"Fathers were left having to ask to use the ladies’ simply to change their babies, as no proper facilities are provided elsewhere.”

A council spokesman said at the time that they were maintained by an external contractor and they were having discussions about reviewing and improving the cleaning processes.

Haigh Woodland Park and Haigh Hall are currently at the centre of a £50m regeneration project.

The historic hall is being transformed and will have an art gallery, children’s education area, event space for weddings and parties, rooftop terrace, restaurant, bar and much more.

Improvements are also being carried out across the park, with a woodland hub and comet trail set to be among new attractions, and restoration work taking place at the Plantation Gates lodges and bothy yard.