Council told to reveal what was spent on Bognor Regis' seafront toilets

A Freedom of Information request is set to reveal how much of taxpayers’ money has gone into Bognor’s botched seafront toilets.
Cllr Jeanette Warr by the toilets on Bognor seafront. Photo by Kate Shemilt ks190073-3Cllr Jeanette Warr by the toilets on Bognor seafront. Photo by Kate Shemilt ks190073-3
Cllr Jeanette Warr by the toilets on Bognor seafront. Photo by Kate Shemilt ks190073-3

Bognor town councillor Jeanette Warr said she took issue with the statement given by Arun District Council last week, reported in the Observer, that no payment for the toilets had been made and it was taking action to protect public funds.

In a request filed earlier this month, her husband Michael Chadman asked for the costs over the lifetime of the project, from the cost of an architect, to the cost of temporary toilets and the new build and said the district council was to blame for the current situation.

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She said: “They’ve been told the design was rubbish, they’ve been told that’s not what people want, people don’t want unisex toilets and they won’t have many there anyway.

Cllr Jeanette Warr by the toilets on Bognor seafront. Photo by Kate Shemilt ks190073-3Cllr Jeanette Warr by the toilets on Bognor seafront. Photo by Kate Shemilt ks190073-3
Cllr Jeanette Warr by the toilets on Bognor seafront. Photo by Kate Shemilt ks190073-3

“We’ve been without proper toilets on the seafront now for two years.”

It comes after the district council confirmed the seafront toilets would have to close just four months after they were opened due to ‘a number of unacceptable defects and issues with the quality of the construction’.

The toilet building is to be removed and temporary toilets put in place once more ‘pending a permanent solution’, the district council confirmed last month.

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In the FOI, request, submitted on February 2, Arun District Council is asked for the cost of the architect and surveyor, the demolition of the foreshore office, the cost of refurbishing a hut

to accommodate the foreshore officer and staff, the cost of groundwork for the new toilets, including plumbing and electrical supplies, the cost of temporary toilets and the new toilets.

She added: “If you had listened to the residents of our town, maybe you would not be in this embarrassing position and we, the public, would not be deprived of toilets of quality on the promenade.”

What do you think about the seafront toilets? Email [email protected] or call 01243 534153.