Dartmouth Town Council are delighted to announce the full refurbishment and extension of the public toilets in Royal Avenue Gardens in the centre of Dartmouth.

These changes will include a reconfiguration of the toilets to add an extension on the side, which is to allow for showers and upgraded disabled access toilets with state-of-the-art equipment. Renovation of the toilet block will include a retail outlet. The retail outlet will be leased by Dartmouth Town Council but not operated.

While other councils are closing a lot of public toilets due to financial pressures and time management. Dartmouth Town Council are taking a more proactive approach to secure and ensure that the facilities are available to benefit the town’s businesses and visitors all year round while improving access for people with disabilities.

Currently the running costs of the toilets are sixty thousand per year. With the addition of the turnstiles this has been greatly reduced to twenty thousand, however, the aim of the income from the additional rental unit is that the toilets then become self-funding. This would then mean that no tax-payers money would be spent on the running costs of the public toilets.

Dartmouth Town Council will endeavor to receive funding towards the project from the Government for disabled access initiatives and other local sources.

The upgrade to the toilets will be a real asset to the town and encourage longer stays by visitors, improve the services for local residents and make life easier for so many families that struggle to take disabled loved ones out without the stress and worry of being able to access the facilities they need.