New public toilets are a step closer for Sandown seafront as the Isle of Wight Council has agreed to the long lease of land at Eastern Gardens – but Southern Water has thrown a spanner in the works.
Sandown Town Council has lodged plans to install new public facilities, which would stand next to the existing conveniences that are currently closed due to their generally poor condition and engineering issues. The Town Council will pay a peppercorn rent to the local authority.
It’s planned that 4 pay-to-use toilets and 2 outside cold showers will be installed next to the Southern Water pumping station. The toilets would be provided by Danfo, who have supplied other pay-to-use facilities in Shanklin, Yarmouth and Newport.
However, Southern Water has raised an objection to the plans due to the close proximity of the toilets to a sewer. It is asking the Isle of Wight Council to reject the plans until a new layout can be determined that meets the standoff requirements.
Speaking at the Isle of Wight Council’s cabinet on Thursday, Councillor Debbie Andre, representative for Sandown North and member of Sandown Town Council, said as a beach destination, the town has an obligation to provide public toilets. She said it had become clear it would not be possible to provide the standard of toilets at the existing conveniences in Eastern Gardens.
Councillor Julie Jones-Evans, cabinet member for regeneration, said it was a shame austerity forced the Isle of Wight Council to give up public conveniences as they understood how important they were. She said could not thank enough the town, parish and community councils who have taken on the facilities, and in many cases improved them.
Councillor Ian Stephens, who abstained from voting, wanted it ensured in the lease that the land was not allowed to be used for future retail use. Cabinet member for strategic finances, Councillor Chris Jarman, confirmed the land would be explicitly reserved for public toilet use.
Should the plans be approved by the Isle of Wight Council, it is thought work will start after the upcoming Summer season – although Southern Water will have something to say about that.
So council spend £3 million on pavement in Newport but we have few public toilets across to the Island,and those we have they want us to pay extra to use. Disgrimanting the elderly and children
Why is it discriminating just the elderly and children?
Discriminate all but tends to be children and elderly who get caught short and have no change/card etc.
Come on Ian Ward get this sorted
To Freddie
I could not agree more .
And not everyone has money on them .so is a problem if they need to use them in a hurry .
Yes, this happend to me yesterday. Luckily i was not wareing shorts, it was disgusting.
Sounds a bit cack-handed to me. Someone’s come up with a plan to have new toilets next to closed old toilets knowing full well they’re too close to a sewer pipe which the water company aren’t happy with.
Rip it up and start again.
“Southern Water has raised an objection to the plans due to the close proximity of the toilets to a sewer”
I would have thought that was an advantage…..
or is it that if it’s close to the sewer, SW have no excsue to charge a fortune for connection ?
Southern Water raise an objection, because THEY say it is too close to a sewer…
Sorry, I always thought that SEWERS were built to take S**t away!?
Perhaps Sourhern Water don’t want any competition with regards to the quantities of ‘sewer waste’ they all too often discharge into the sea?!?
Many third world countries can afford to provide free public toilets, but we have to pay?
That’s because they ain’t got a pot to p**s in.
Neither have we apparently, unless you can afford to pay!