New toilets confirmed for Wirral park after 18-month campaign

Local campaigners say they are ‘absolutely delighted’ as new toilets are expected to be built soon after an 18 month campaign.

Vale Park in New Brighton has seen visitors struggle with access to a major public facility, after its toilets were destroyed by Storm Arwen in November 2021.

Since then, the only available toilet has been inside The Coffee Roast at Vale House, causing the owners to experience dread and parkgoers to have limited access to a bathroom.

An officer decision by Wirral Council has now awarded developer, Healthmatic, to carry out the construction work to replace the public toilets costing the council £14,279.30. Four unisex toilets will be provided as well as a disabled toilet. It expected that once works begin, the toilets will be completed in around eight weeks.

What has been said: “The proposed new public toilet facilities replace the existing storm damaged structure. The existing toilet facilities were damaged beyond repair during Storm Arwen in November 2021 and needed to be demolished,” a council report said.

“The newbuilding will provide a self-contained public toilet facility including four standard separate unisex toilet units, one accessible toilet unit and a service area as a permanent replacement for the current temporary toilet facilities at Vale Park.”

Sean Martin, Chair of the New Brighton Coastal Community, said: “We are absolutely delighted. We would like to thank Wirral Council and look forward to it being up and running and I would like to thank the people who signed the petitions and all the people who campaigned on this.

“Every seaside town depends on visitors and we have had people say they would never come back to New Brighton against because there are no public toilets. As a seaside town it is vital that we have public toilets and it impacts the image that people have when they visit.”

Richie Pitt and Hazel Quinn, who run The Coffee Roast at Vale House welcomed the move. They said: “It is with a great sense of relief that toilets in Vale park are to be rebuilt. For the last 18 months the toilet situation in the park has been has filled us with a sense of dread and appreciation, being the only building in the park with useable toilets.

“We would like to say a big thank you to our Labour councillors Sue Powell-Wilde, Tony Jones and Paul Martin for their efforts in the hard work and dedication in making sure the park toilets are to be rebuilt.”