New toilets open on Plymouth waterfront

New toilets are being opened on Plymouth’s waterfront this week as part of a programme to replace or refurbish facilities.

Refurbished toilets at Devil’s Point will be reopened – just in time for the Easter holidays – following the demolition of a rather dated block, believed to have been built in 1960s.

The uninviting concrete block has gone and in its place are new modern toilets, similar to the facilities that have been erected on the Barbican. There are two unisex cubicles with mother and baby changing facilities.

There is also a toilet for people with disabilities and a shower so that people using the beach and seawater pool at Firestone Bay can rinse off after bathing.

The Council teamed up with the Stonehouse Lawn Tennis Club who will be using a room at the rear of the building. As part of the lease conditions, the club will make their facilities available to the local community. With more people using the revamped toilets, it is hoped the toilets will be less of a target for anti-social behaviour.

Cabinet Member for Street Scene, Councillor Brian Vincent said: “We are bucking the national trend and investing in facilities – particularly on our waterfront.

“Devil’s Point has been a popular spot for local residents as well as visitors to Britain’s Ocean City. The tennis club is a popular club, well used by residents and we hope that more people around will means the new block is less likely be vandalised.”

The tennis club chair Tom Keane said: “This is a part of Plymouth that is very special and it is good to see the Council invest in facilities for local people and visitors so that we can all enjoy our amazing waterfront.”

On the other side of Stonehouse Creek, a new unisex toilet with mother and baby and disabled facilities will also open at Richmond Walk, near the public slipway behind the Mayflower Marina and overlooking the River Tamar.

Councillor Vincent added: “More residents and visitors are taking to the water. We have lots more people kayaking and paddle-boarding in the Sound and along the Tamar as well as people sailing in dinghies.

“This is a popular spot and we wanted to make sure people enjoying our waterfront can pop to the loo when they need to.”

The project team consulted with the Plymouth Area Disability Action Network to make sure that the facilities were as disabled friendly as possible. The cubicles are wider and signage has been designed to be easier to read for those with visual problems.

Contractors TEC Construction have been demolishing and replacing facilities near the local shopping centres at Southway, Whitleigh and Crownhill.

The replacement and refurbishment project costs £436,600 and is funded through the Council’s capital programme.