YORK'S infamous "splash palace" is finally to be consigned to the history books.

Plans have been unveiled to close the Parliament Street toilets, and replace them with a new block in Silver Street, off Newgate Market.

Tourism bosses, councillors and campaigners have all welcomed the move, claiming the state of York's toilets at present is shameful.

The Parliament Street loos were opened in 1992, following a major refurbishment of pre-existing underground toilets. But the building was widely derided at the time as an eyesore, and it has been blighted over the years by vandalism, misuse, blocked drains and bad access.

Richard Chisnell, director of the British Toilet Association, which campaigns for better standards in public loos, said: "For a cathedral city, and one as important as York, the toilets have not been great and they are a sad reflection on the council.

"We cannot knock them for building a new block, but we can for not maintaining acceptable standards.

"I know, having visited York, that you come away thinking nice Minster - shame about the toilets'."

City centre councillor Janet Looker said: "Public toilets are a huge challenge. Everybody wants them, but keeping them clean and in a decent standard is a real challenge for all sorts of awful reasons." She added: "This is an opportunity to do them as well as they can, but ultimately they depend on people leaving them in a decent standard and I sometimes get so shocked at what people do. If they do that at home. I hate to think what their bathroom looks like."

Gillian Cruddas, Chief Executive of York Tourism Bureau said: "First impressions of a city are very important and most visitors would use the planned new facilities during their stay.

"Crucially it is the maintenance and upkeep of any new facilities that must take a firm priority.

"If the current Parliament Street building is removed then this location provides a fantastic opportunity to showcase what the city has to offer and we'd welcome the opportunity to contribute to that discussion."

A council spokesperson said: "We want to ensure that the new toilets are in keeping with the very latest legislation and as state-of-the-art as they possibly can be.

"This means looking at things like including a staffing kiosk and ensuring that disabled people are able to access the toilets through the same entrance as everyone else.

"No decisions have been taken about the future of the building on Parliament Street as yet, but it will be up to council members to decide that in the coming months. It is hoped that the new toilets will be in use by this time next year."

Outline planning permission has already been granted for the new toilets, and further details will be considered by the council's neighbourhood services panel in March.