2 weeks Ago
Public toilets once blighted by antisocial behaviour have reopened following a major revamp. The Goldstone Villas site in Hove has been the target of antisocial behaviour and damage in recent years which Brighton and Hove City Council hopes the upgrades will deter. The work included raising the previously subterranean floor to ground level, relocating the accessible toilet and refurbishing both men’s and women’s toilets to include family rooms, baby change facilities and cubicles with grab rails.
The toilets before the refurb (Image: Brighton and Hove City Council) They will be open between 10am to 4pm during the winter months (October 1 to March 31), and 10am to 6pm during the summer months (April 1 to September 30). Councillor Tim Rowkins, cabinet member for environment and net zero, said: “I’m so pleased to see this major refurbishment now complete and the new facility open to the public. “For too long, these toilets were inaccessible to so many people.
Raising the floor level and relocating the accessible toilet to face out to Goldstone Villas means they’re now available to everybody. “Public toilets have been a major priority for us. We know how important it is for residents and visitors to be able to access these essential public facilities and that they’re of the highest standard.
” This latest reopening comes following a raft of refurbishments to other facilities across the city. In November, a refurbishment of the toilets at Ovingdean Undercliff began and the toilets are scheduled to reopen in mid-April. Inside the new toilets (Image: Brighton and Hove City Council) In October, Changing Places toilets in Preston Park, Brighton, opened.
In September, new Changing Places in St Ann’s Well Gardens, Hove, reopened with height-adjustable benches, ceiling track hoists, height-adjustable sinks and extra space for carers. In June, The MacLaren Pavilion at the Level in Brighton was developed into a split-use café and public toilet - currently being remarketed. In April, the facilities in the Royal Pavilion Gardens in Brighton were reopened and a new Changing Places toilet was opened at the One Garden in Stanmer Park, Brighton.
The public toilets in Pavilion Gardens were closed in October 2022 due to poor condition, vandalism and high levels of anti-social behaviour. Hundreds of residents had signed a petition urging the council to reopen the facility. The then Green administration finally u-turned on their original decision to axe the facilities .
In March, Black Rock, Greenleas, and Hollingbury Park toilets were opened all year round as part of changes to the service. In July 2023, seven more public toilets were opened at Blakers Park, Greenleas, Easthill Park, Hove Cemetery South, Queen’s Park, Stanmer Village and Vale Park..
