Sittingbourne Loos To Be Fully Refurbished

The public toilets in the Central Avenue Car Park are set to be fully refurbished as Swale Borough Council continues its work to regenerate Sittingbourne’s town centre.

The work will upgrade the well-used toilets, repairing the roof, renovating the windows, refurbishing the cubicle doors and toilets, and installing new energy-efficient LED lighting. The walls and flooring will be repaired or replaced, and a new ceiling will be installed.

Swale Borough Council have confirmed that "these improvements will help make the toilets more modern and inviting, energy-efficient, and easier to clean and maintain".

New baby changing facilities will be installed in the women’s, men’s and disabled toilets, making it easier for Swale’s families to visit Sittingbourne High Street.

The exterior of the facility will also be getting a face lift; power washing and repainting the concrete where needed, refurbishing the doors, and installing new signage.

The council will be using funding from the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and Pride in Place Impact Fund (PIPIF), alongside reserves set aside for the refurbishment.

The toilets will close to allow for the extensive refurbishment works to be completed, with the toilets set to reopen in April.

The nearest public toilets are located within the Forum Car Park, which will close permanently once the refurbished Central Avenue toilets are reopened.

This follows the council’s thorough review of public conveniences; identifying the most used toilets and where potential investment could achieve the greatest benefit for their residents.

Cllr Monique Bonney, chair of the Economy and Property Committee, told SFM News: “These toilets will soon be modern and inviting, while also being hard-wearing and easier to keep clean and maintain at their new amazing standard. They will need to be closed while we undertake this important work, we are sorry for any inconvenience, but it will be well worth the wait. This is just one element of our plans to continue improving Sittingbourne, and the rest of Swale, making the most out of the government funding we have received.”

Cllr Dolley Wooster, chair of the Environmental Services and Climate Change Committee, told SFM News: “We know that public toilets are incredibly important to our residents and have taken in a lot of the feedback we received during our consultation last year. The public conveniences review helped us identify where we should invest our limited funding to make the most impact for our residents. The refurbishment of these toilets is a result of this work and will help us provide clean, maintained and family friendly toilets in Sittingbourne.”