New toilets at Charlotte Street car park in Bath have been reopened ahead of schedule, in time for the opening of the Christmas Market on 27th November.
Work at The Shallows in Saltford has also begun and on Monday 24th November, work will begin on installing new toilets at Sydney Gardens and Alexandra Park.
Healthmatic Ltd, the Council’s contractor, is also making good progress on new toilets at Parade Gardens. These are expected to open in early December.
The Council’s contract with Healthmatic Ltd will provide investment in cleaning and management services for 15 years, and means that 15 public toilets in parks, play areas, green spaces and key transport hubs will remain open and be improved.
Cllr David Dixon (Lib Dem, Oldfield), Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said: “I’m delighted that new, modern, clean toilets are now being put in place across the district.
“People are telling me every day what a great improvement these new facilities are – they are much improved, cleaner and safer to use and certainly worth 20p.”
Cllr Dixon also said that negotiations with local businesses to keep public toilet provision at Larkhall and Weston are going well, and new toilets at Royal Victoria Park play area, Henrietta Park and Newbridge Park & Ride will follow in early 2015.
The new public toilets will have many benefits for local people, including:
- Cubicles will be unisex, disability compliant and will have baby-change facilities;
- The cubicles offer a high standard of cleanliness and safety and are able to handle large numbers of people using them;
- They are large enough for a parent with a couple of small children and a pushchair to use together;
- High-tech controls means access can be 24 hours / 7 days a week all year and timers can be adjusted remotely to suit local need as well;
- Access is by coin entry to a totally private cubicle with its own hand-washing and drying facilities;
- The inside is resistant to vandalism and misuse with an easy-clean tiled interior and hard-wearing fittings;
- Problems are detected remotely enabling rapid response by Healthmatic’s engineering and maintenance teams.
All of the refurbished facilities will be charged at 20p for use, in order to make the contract sustainable over the next 15 years.
