£600,000 for "awful" Thanet public toilets?

Thanet District Council are considering the proposal, though some wonder if the money could be better spent.   Finn Macdiarmid reports.

Transcript

00:00Public toilets aren't the most popular of places, often having an unhygienic reputation,

00:05but they are essential for both locals and tourists.

00:09With this in mind, Thanet District Council are currently discussing a proposal to refurbish

00:13a pair of public toilets in Margate and Broadstairs.

00:16Now no-one expects public loos to be clean, but they do at least expect them to be open.

00:21The clock tower toilets behind me are just one of two public toilets listed by Thanet

00:26District Council as being earmarked for potential refurbishment.

00:31But it might cost up to £600,000.

00:33The clock tower toilets in Margate and Stone Bay toilets in Broadstairs would be part of

00:38a million pound project for toilets across Thanet, which has already seen nine public

00:42facilities refurbished.

00:44I spoke to the Managing Director of the British Toilet Association about why having public

00:49toilets is such a necessary expense.

00:52We've been suffering from years and years of underinvestment where there was no money,

00:55councils had very, very little money, no funding from government.

00:59So therefore it's great when a local authority like Thanet have come out now and said, we

01:05want to refurbish our toilets because toilets are a very, very important part of the infrastructure.

01:10They're there for residents, for tourists, for visitors, for families with young children.

01:15In a statement, Councillor Steve Alban, Cabinet Member for Cleansing and Coastal Services,

01:20said,

01:21We recognise the importance that the provision of public toilets has for both local people

01:25and visitors.

01:26The opportunity for councillors to consider how we might continue to improve them and

01:30make them accessible for all the people that might need them is welcomed.

01:33Cabinet looks forward to receiving the recommendations made by the Overview and Scrutiny Panel so

01:38we can make a timely decision.

01:40Further out from Margate's beachfront, a local councillor for the Cliftonville East

01:43Ward doesn't think the council are doing enough for toilets in other parts of the district.

01:48I'm not convinced that the toilets at Stone Bay are the priority there.

01:54They're not particularly accessible, they're up some very steep stairs.

01:59Botany Bay has serious problems with toilet provision.

02:03The toilet facilities here could be massively expanded.

02:06Well, the people who would know best about the state of the facilities are those who

02:10might actually be using them.

02:12Margate Public Toilets are inane, they're not very well run and there's not enough of them.

02:18It could be cleaner though, and it could open up, open them up.

02:22But the beach isn't too bad, there's not loads of litter but the toilets are astronomical,

02:27they're just awful.

02:28Well, if the schemes are able to get planning permission, work would start in 2025.

02:33Finn McDermid for KMTV in Thanet.