The Marlborough Road public toilets, tucked away behind Ventnor’s High Street and up a very steep hill, are to be given back to the Isle of Wight Council.
Instead, the Ventnor Town Council (VTC) is building new accessible ones in the Central Car Park (pictured above).
In 2015, to save £500,000, the Isle of Wight Council voted to close 41 public toilets and invited expressions of interest from town and parish councils to take over management or ownership.
VTC took on three toilets
A number of town, parish and community councils stepped up to take over the management of the toilets to keep them open.
Ventnor Town Council agreed to take on three public toilets, owning two — the Esplanade and Ventnor Park — and leasing one.
Due to the flat above the Marlborough Road toilets, the town council chose to lease them from the Isle of Wight Council, in a 125-year agreement.
New more accessible toilets
The town council has since started building a new, accessible toilet in the Central Car Park and have agreed they no longer need the Marlborough Road site.
Speaking at their meeting earlier this month, mayor of Ventnor, Steve Cockett, said it would be a great shame to see the toilets given back, with a little bit of history going.
They would not, he said, miss the high utility costs and the acts of vandalism that had previously seen the toilets close over the years.
Access via steep hill
Cllr Cockett pointed out, as they are up a steep hill, they are not as accessible as the new toilets in the flat car park.
To hand the toilets back to the Isle of Wight Council, Ventnor will need to issue a break notice, which will take six months to come into effect.
Retain until end of summer season
Councillors did raise concerns about issuing the notice too soon just in case there were problems with the building of the new facilities that would delay its July opening date.
Others also suggested the council retain them over the summer for tourists and at least wait until children have gone back to school.
It was agreed by the town council, to issue the break notice so the Isle of Wight Council regains control of the toilets on 1st October.
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
