Back at the beginning of May, OnTheWight ran a Letter to the Editor from Mr James who was unhappy to find the public toilets at St Helens Duver closed.
His letter raised a great deal of comment among readers, one of whom is Leader of the Isle of Wight council and St Helens parish councillor, Jonathan Bacon.
Parish council agrees to take on toilets
Cllr Bacon was able to advise that parish councillors had agreed at their meeting that same evening to take on responsibility of the toilets. He said,
“Having just got home from the meeting I can report that St Helens Parish Council have agreed the motion put forward this evening by 4 votes to 1 to enable the Duver Toilets to open this summer.
“They should reopen in a few days once necessary checks etc. have been undertaken.”
A ‘few days’ leads to a few weeks
A few weeks have passed, but it appears the toilets have still not been re-opened. Over the half term break OnTheWight has been contacted by several people unhappy with the situation.
Fred Dawson told OnTheWight this morning,
“Duver Beach Toilets now closed the nearest are a good 20 minute walk into St Helens. This is one of The Isle of Wights most popular beaches. Rather than walk people will relieve themselves in dunes or behind the beach huts creating a public health hazard and damaging the ecology. This is closure effectively prevents people with disabilities from using the beach.”
Holidaymaker Maria Greenhill also got in touch this week. She said,
How will you keep tourists visiting if you shut amenities? (The Duver toilets St Helens) @iwight Shameful – day ruined
— Maria Greenhill (@NYRO_MGreenhill) May 31, 2016
She went on to say that the closure of the public toilets is a “short-sighted policy” by the council and that “tourists will go elsewhere!”. She added, “This will lead to decline of IOW tourist industry.”
Four to six week process
St Helens Parish council’s clerk, Lisa Dyer, explained to OnTheWight today (Thursday) that when the motion to take on the toilets was agreed by parish councillors, she had suggested the process may take between four to six weeks, as there was some legal and other preparatory work to go through.
Lisa confirmed today that the first draft of the contract had not been received until 16th May, however, the parish council were not happy with the conditions imposed and suggested some revisions.
The revised contract was received on 26th May and have been assessed by a lawyer. Lisa confirmed the signed contracts were due to be handed into County Hall today (Thursday).
Before the toilets can re-open, the parish council requires confirmation that an electrical safety check has been undertaken and the electrics confirmed safe.
It’s not clear how long that will take. Watch this space!
