I think there would be few people who would disagree that £330k is a lot of money. It's a lot of public money that perhaps could be used on more worthwhile projects. I don't think I'm the only Councillor shocked at this extraordinary amount of money that has been earmarked to effectively 'get rid' of the public toilets from the district councils books.
We constantly hear arguments that homelessness is costing the council (the taxpayer) a lot of money and there is a deficit in the budget. So it would appear that the Conservative administration has called in a favour from Labour - yes they have borrowed the 'Magic Money Tree' to fund this little project of theirs!
The whole process of offloading the responsibility of the toilets has, in my opinion, been a strange affair. My fellow Councillor, Chris Stanley, argued for some considerable time as to why there was a need to dispose of the Crown Hill public toilets. 'Building unsound' 'Graffiti' 'Drug Use' - all of these reasons were cited. We've actually seen NO evidence of this.
Cllr Stanley also asked for the quotes to refurbish the Crown Hill toilets into a modern, functioning design. Quotes that never appeared. Somehow, the Conservatives believe the only way is to build new modern toilets.
The condition of the building has recently seen a reprieve - hooray! Now apparently, the building could be suitable for a commercial use. Address THE OLD TOILETS, CROWN HILL, RAYLEIGH. A prestigious address for a commercial unit. (thanks Cllr Eves)