Work starts on refurbishing key public conveniences in the Chichester District

Specialist contractor Mountjoy, which undertakes a range of property maintenance services for several local authorities across the south, is carrying out the work on behalf of Chichester District Council, following a tender process.

Work has started at the site in Chichester's Priory Park and also at Bosham. Once this work is completed, the contractor will then move on to East Beach in Selsey and Market Road in Chichester.

"This is a major project for us, and we are delighted that work has now started," says Councillor Harsha Desai, Cabinet Member for Growth and Place at Chichester District Council. "We understand that having high quality, accessible public conveniences is extremely important, especially for visitors to our district and people with health conditions, and we want to ensure that the facilities we provide are of the highest standard. We are pleased that as a council we are still investing in this key service for our residents and visitors.

"When selecting the sites for this project we considered a number of issues including the level of use, feedback from members of the public and our partners, and the works required at each site

"Although there will be some disruption while the works take place, we have organised the work to ensure that this is kept to a minimum. We really appreciate people's patience and understanding while this important work takes place."

To ensure that works are delivered efficiently and that the public still have access to facilities within the city, work will be carried on a maximum of two sites at any one time. It is anticipated that the project will be completed by the end of the summer.

All the sites will have new disabled facilities that meet modern legislation, while other work will include providing new flooring, tiling, and sanitary ware. Some of the sites will also be suitable for solar panels. LED lights, which are much more efficient and better for the environment, will also be installed.

In addition, work will also be carried out as part of the project to demolish the facilities in Tower Street, Chichester. This followed detailed investigations carried out last year, which found severe structural and subsidence issues that would require extensive and costly work. A number of options on the future use of the site will be discussed by the council's Cabinet.

Harsha adds: "Unfortunately, it would have been far too expensive for us to carry out the significant amount of work that would be needed to resolve the issues at the Tower Street site. As a council, we do have to ensure that we are using our limited budgets wisely. We'll be examining this particular site in more detail at a later date.

"Again, I'd like to take the opportunity to reassure residents and visitors that we do still have our public conveniences in Little London, which are right in the centre of Chichester. There are also facilities in our museum — The Novium Museum — as well as facilities in the Avenue de Chartres, Cattle Market, and Northgate car parks, along with those provided in Priory Park. There are also toilet facilities provided by surrounding businesses and visitor attractions."

Date of Release: 22 March 2024                                                       

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