Timaru council consults on toilet block finish in town’s CBD

Wednesday, 21 August 2024

In a bid to get to the bottom of an exterior finish for Timaru’s Strathallan Corner toilets, the council will consult with the public.

But many on social media have questioned the decision to replace the toilets and asked why the redevelopment needs to be done.

On Monday evening, the Timaru District Council revealed that as part of an upcoming $1.6 million redevelopment of Strathallan Corner in the town’s CBD, it would replace and move the toilet block.

It has committed the money through its Long-Term Plan 2024-34, to enhance visitor experience in the CBD, and to support businesses by creating better conditions for customers including cruise visitors to stop, stay and spend, a council spokesperson said.

The work is being done as part of the council’s inner town centre enhancement programme, with $600,000 set aside for the demolition of the existing toilet block and its replacement with a smaller, “better sited block’’ of four stalls.

The block would include an accessible toilet and baby change facilities.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has granted $300,000 for the project through its Tourism Infrastructure Fund and the process is part of the $34m CityTown project aimed to create a masterplan for the long-term development of Timaru’s CBD.

However, members of the community were quick to offer their views, with many asking why there was a need to replace the toilets, and why the existing facilities could not get a facelift, instead of “wasting ratepayer money’’, one commenter said.

Others suggested toilets should be built at CPlay, or at the Bay Hill.

The redevelopment came after councillors told staff at a meeting in May that an investigation into the replacement of the public toilets should not be over-thought, with a simple, safe design all that was needed.

On April 9, the council shared plans from three architects, Rushton Architects, DLA Design, and Silva Studios, to its social media pages and on its website, asking for people to choose their favourite design.

However, this was not a formal consultation, and property services and client representative Nicole Timney said the designs did not meet the project’s scope and the council wanted the designers to “dial it back’’.

In a bid to prioritise available funding for the corner redevelopment project it had been decided to go ahead with a standard toilet block, with a choice of finishes, the council spokesperson said.

The council had presented five finish options for consultation and was asking for the public’s view on which one to go with – a vinyl wrap in a heritage or nature theme, a bluestone finish, a timber slat finish or a corten steel finish.

The council spokesperson said it was working to confirm detailed infrastructure plans for redevelopment of the site and later in the year designers would be invited to tender for the redevelopment of corner, with the chosen supplier preparing a design to achieve the CityTown Masterplan civic space concept.

Community consultation on the design would be done in late 2024 with the final design confirmed prior to Christmas.

“However, in order to minimise disruption over the busiest season for retail and tourism (including our cruise ship visitors), the construction period for the redevelopment of Strathallan Corner, including the toilets, is currently forecast for March 2025,’’ the spokesperson said.

The toilet block survey could be completed at timaru.govt.nz.