Staff and volunteers at Rye Heritage Centre say they’re worried plans to convert part of The Strand public toilets into a coffee shop will again lead to extra pressure on the team. They are also concerned slow progress on the plans could lead to the toilets being closed over winter.
Writing in this week’s Rye News manager Simon Parsons says reducing the amount of public toilets will mean more queries from visitors. “We expect to be busy dealing with visitors discomfort and sometimes genuine distress, along with disgruntled and occasionally abusive visitors.” The team say there will be a repeat of what happened when the toilets were shut by Rother District Council to save money two years ago before being re-opened by Rye Town Council.
At the end of last year RDC announced plans to market three public toilets in Rye to be partly converted into commercial businesses. The toilets on Rye Salts will become a cycle hub and the buildings on the Strand and in the Gun Gardens will also house coffee shops.
The businesses are expected to pay for any conversion costs, an annual rent, and a proportion of their turnover. They would also be expected to maintain some public toilets. RDC says having a business on site is preferable to leaving them unmanned at risk of anti-social behaviour and vandalism.
The lack of clarity is also a worry for the Rye Heritage Centre volunteers says Simon Parsons. “So many answers appear to be unconfirmed. We have asked for timings so that we can notify various group visit organisers about the public facilities that will be available nearby.”
The Council has now confirmed slow progress with the lease, saying any work to convert the building is unlikely this year raising fears the toilets may be closed again this winter.
RDC also says that once the coffee shop is up and running there won’t be any issues caused by the changes to the Strand toilets. Not so says Rye Heritage Centre. “That does not reflect our previous experiences and cannot be the result of any local consultation.”
In Winchelsea, discussions continue on the two toilets owned and run by Rother District Council which were also marketed for retail. No bids were received for the town centre building on Monk’s Walk and plans to convert the toilets at Winchelsea Beach into a sauna fell through.
Image Credits: Peter Connock .
So the business owner will be expected to keep their neighbouring public toilet clean. I assume on a daily basis. Including additional cleaning throughout the day when necessary. They then go on to prepare food and drinks for paying customers. Will adequate changing facilities be incorporated to allow the changing of clothing between cleaning toilets and preparing/handling food and drinks? Or are RDC not bothered about the potential health risks? There are government guidelines on food preparation, they are very clear. I am curious how much consideration has really been given to them?
Pathetic, the toilets are supposed to be toilets and not shops. The RDC are a disgrace and the sooner the entire bunch get their P45s the better. It’s not hard to put together a plan to run the toilets which should be done by Rye Town Council, if they could actually get their act together instead of just endlessly talking and meeting.
Action now is required by locals for a local service, please everyone, just for once DO SOMETHING
This is one of the weirdest schemes that I have ever heard of. With the number of excellent tea and coffee shops in Rye, I somehow doubt that many people will be attracted to having refreshments in a small lavatory. I certainly wouldn’t.
Just what Rye needs, more coffee shops. Clearly not facilities for visitors and locals.
A quick Google search shows that there are ways to protect public toilets from vandalism, with projects going on elsewhere in the UK.
So, are we to believe that RDC are not interested in ways to tackle vandalism? This is a very depressing – and defeatist approach, in my opinion. Yet another case of greed before the needs of residents and visitors.