PUBLIC TOILETS ATTACKED AGAIN

Thanet’s beleaguered public toilets have been under attack again in the latest spate of vandalism and anti-social behaviour.

In the latest incidents, the Clock Tower toilets on Broadstairs seafront, the Harold Road car park toilets in Cliftonville and the East Pier Yard toilets along Ramsgate seafront have been targeted.

At Harold Road, cleaners doing a deep clean of the men’s toilets noticed that the toilet pipe work was loose. When they went to fix it, they found around 50 syringes, burnt foil, tins that had been cut open and burnt and cigarette packs. All of this has been removed and disposed of and a new cover will be put in place to try and stop this.

At the Clock Tower, cleaners at the men’s toilets discovered that a hand dryer and tissue dispenser had been broken and that there was wet tissue and graffiti over the ceiling and walls. With these toilets now closed for the winter, the graffiti will be cleaned off as part of a deep clean before they re-open in the spring.

The disabled toilets and baby changing room were also covered in graffiti and beer cans and used condoms were found inside. The door to the baby changing room has also now been kicked in on a number of occasions, with mess inside, including cans, used condoms, cigarette ends and mud. The door was first repaired by the council with a slide bolt, but when it was vandalised again, this was replaced by two sliding bolts and a padlock, as the frame had been damaged. However, even this has not deterred the vandals and it has been damaged a third time. As a result, the baby changing rooms, which are normally open year round, have now being boarded up for the winter in a bid to stop any further damage. The nearest baby changing facilities are at Harbour Street.

In the latest incident, the new baby changing table installed at the East Pier Yard toilets last year has been pushed down so hard that the springs have been broken. It cannot be used and now the council has to replace it at an estimated cost of £400.  

Cllr. Simon Moores, Cabinet Member for Community Services, said: “Yet again, our already thin resources are being stretched even further by some people who seem to find it entertaining to vandalise public toilets that are there for everyone to use. It is beyond belief that our staff are constantly having to deal with issues like this and it’s got to stop. Sadly, I’ve indicated in the past, we’ve now had to take the decision to close up the baby changing room at the Clock Tower for the winter, which is not something we want to do. However, we cannot stand by and watch these facilities being constantly damaged at cost to the public purse.”