Newport and Carisbrooke Community Council’s 5-year plan came to fruition last week, as they opened brand new public toilets in Post Office Lane.
In 2016, the town’s Council took over all the public toilets in Newport and Carisbrooke when the Isle of Wight Council ceased to run them.
Post Office Lane was quickly identified as being the toilets in most need of upgrading, given the general condition and having the highest footfall of all the locations. Rather than refurbish, a new building was deemed to be more appropriate to provide clean and modern facilities.
Users will now have to pay 40p to spend a penny, which can be by coins or contactless payment. The toilets were previously free.
The scheme has cost £190,000, of which £160,000 has been financed by a Public Works Loan over 10 years. The lifespan of the toilets is estimated at 40-50 years, as the modular design means individual components can be replaced when needed. Running costs are also reduced due to energy, consumables, maintenance and water savings.
A more attractive public space has been created with new landscaping, planting and the building has a green roof planted with sedum to create an area to encourage wildlife, fitting in perfectly with Newport being the capital of the Isle of Wight Biosphere. The building has also been clad with enamelled sheets which gives a light, bright, long lasting and easy to maintain finish.
NCCC worked closely with local businesses, architects and planners Christopher Scott, vitreous enamellers AJ Wells and Emerald Construction.
The site threw up some challenges due to its location down a narrow lane and an archaeological inspection was required before the new foundations could be laid. Most challenging was craning in the large, prefabricated building and thanks go to the now-closed Prezzo for the use of their car park. A crane had to be brought over from the mainland due to the size needed.
Councillor Julie Jones-Evans, Chair of Newport and Carisbrooke Community Council and member for Newport Central, has said:
“When we took over the public toilets in Newport and Carisbrooke it was immediately clear that the condition of the Post Office Lane facilities meant they would need replacing, with modern and fit for purpose toilets.
“It’s taken a while and a significant investment but the result is such a marked change, with the clean toilets, new public space, planting and attractive enamel cladding from AJ Wells. Instead of being an embarrassment these new toilets are something to be proud of and more in keeping with our status as the County Town .”
Councillor Steve Hastings, Chair of the Newport & Carisbrooke Community Council Assets & Facilities Committee, added:
“It is really good to finally see this project completed to give residents of Newport and Carisbrooke the quality facilities and landscape they deserve”.
Jon Gilby, Isle of Wight representative for Danfo UK, who manufactured the building, says:
“This new facility is great news for Newport, bringing another Island location into the 21st Century. Danfo have now delivered Shanklin, Gurnard and Yarmouth with other locations on the cards to start very soon, offering sustainable, accessible and eco-friendly custom toilet options that seem a world apart from the old smelly and somewhat problematic facilities we seem to have been left with.
“I’m extremely pleased along with Danfo UK to be able to assist and support Community, Town and Parish Councils with these changes and options moving forward”.
40p a go? That’s just taking the p i s s!
They should slash 40 pee off that price what do we pay countcil tax for
To feed the council staff nothing more nothing less
£190,000 for a prefabricated toilet block, you could build a 5 bedroom detached house for that and still have change for a porch 911.lol
Charges to the multi story and now this.. You’ll be charged to use traffic lights next..
Don’t give them any more good ideas!
A toll to drive into Newport maybe????
They won’t get much use as most of the shops have closed permanently so no one will be walking about Newport. Also £ 190,000 for a prefab toilet block now that is preposterous someone’s making some serious money out of this
I will pee on the side of this steel shack rather than pay 40 pence.
Just go in Costa it’s free
40p today 80p tomorrow
Take away Christopher Scott’s fee and you have cheap costing toilets.
Why on earth has he got involved?
I’ve been going to Newport for years and never paid for parking or toilets. I could list where free parking is , where you can go to the toilet free of charge. I wouldn’t give this greedy council a penny ( no pun intended) Another extra outrageous grabbing of Council Tax payers money. We are paying for starters the considerable loss of money of the floating bridge fiasco. No way are the council are going to get any compensation from something they signed off at the beginning, Someone somewhere dropped an almighty costly mistake. We’ll never know who it was and names associated with this fiasco.
Holy C- – p Batman
40p a go and they can’t even have separate cubicle for each sex. Suggest the lady councilors go down and use them after certain men who don’t lift the seat and waters them. Disgusting.
There is no longer gender that is why…dinosaur thinking..
genders exist and the vast majority of society is proud of their own identity – we are not all, faceless drones. Nearly all of society is gender content heterosexuals ..minorities are only given what the majority agree to – bear that in mind and that includes laws – the majority decide
These toilets were far better than those near the bus station. The gents are disgusting as there are no longer any urinals and some men pee over the seats and the wash basins usually don’t work.
Typical Council above inflation from zero to 40p.
Would not be suprised they tried to get Goverment grant for this, mind you they would spend it on the useless chain ferry!
OUR council tax rise should cover this, but wait this is the Islands council want’s to break us all then they will get sod all!
What a load of crap litteraly!
Well i suggest that noone uses them! 40p?seriously taking piss and a rip off.im disabled and need too pee frequently but I’ll pee my pants then on this one.expect even the disabled one is included.
good – wouldn’t want to see disabled people discriminated against, by being given free toilets, if able bodied have to pay – wouldn’t be fair, would it.
Human rights issue i reckon. Pay to usethe Loo. If i need a dump or a wee i will just go beside it anyway and let them clear it up.Nobody would notice now because nobody will ever return to the shitehole with nothing there that is called Newport
of course you risk having someone film you, which is then put on facebook to shame you and sent to the police – you then get to pay a fine for public indecency.
by the way, it is not your human right to be provided free access to a toilet anywhere as someone else had to pay for the construction of the toilet.
if you built and paid for it, then you can use it for free.