With work set to start on major highway improvements as part of the Ryde Interchange Transport Project next week, temporary toilets are planned to be installed.
As part of the Ryde Interchange project, the current toilet block in Western Gardens on the Esplanade will be demolished after approval was granted earlier this month.
Temporary toilets
To ensure there are still public toilets in the popular part of town, the Isle of Wight Council wants to install temporary toilets in Western Gardens while the transport project is completed.
The authority is proposing to install them at the opposite end of the gardens to the current toilet block.
They would be installed over two weeks, between April and June, as trailer-based units inserted into a timber decking with wooden skirting so the bottom would not be visibile.
Open from 7am to 11pm
The temporary toilets will be open from 7am to 11pm, with five women’s stalls, three men’s stalls, ten urinals and a disabled toilet with an access ramp and steps.
The authority says the proposal would only have limited, temporary and insignificant impact of the character of the area, and be done so in a manner sensitive to the historic and natural environment.
View the plans
You can view the plans. 22/00448/FUL, on the council’s planning register.
The public consultation is open until 26th April 2022.
Concerns raised
Concerns were raised at a planning committee meeting this month over the length of time the temporary toilets would remain at Western Gardens.
Members were assured they would not permanently remain there, only for a limited time, as new facilities are installed in the train station.
Station plans imminent
Plans for the new station are yet to be unveiled by South Western Railway although it is thought a planning application will be submitted in May with a shorter construction programme.
All aspects of the Interchange project need to be finished by April 2023 as part of the conditions stipulated in the government funding.
The project will be constructed in phases over 12 months to take into account popular Island events and to minimise disruption.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
Image: © Rainey Petrie Architecture
