A COUNCIL has agreed to a multi-million-pound investment into refurbishing public toilets.

Brighton and Hove City Council will be spending a total of £2.7 million on upgrades to 11 of the busiest public toilets in the city. The investment will see loos in the highest footfall areas, including the seafront, being refurbished over the next three years.

At the same time, the council has also agreed to end its contract with toilet company Healthmatic and begin running the service 'in-house'.

The contract with the toilet company will end on January 31 next year. Following its end, the council will directly maintain and control the 36 loos. The council will then employ the current Healthmatic staff.

The Argus: Public toilets in Brighton and Hove are to receive a major refurbishmentPublic toilets in Brighton and Hove are to receive a major refurbishment

The decision comes after the council decided it wanted more control over the toilets' cleaning, maintenance, and refurbishment.

Council leader Phélim Mac Cafferty said: "I'm delighted to announce the £2.7 million investment to refurbish key toilets in some of the busiest and most prominent areas of the city.

"We know work is greatly needed to improve our public toilets, so we are pleased this investment will put us back on track, providing a higher quality service for residents and visitors alike.

"Cleaning and maintaining the council's 36 toilets is an extremely important yet often difficult task.

"This is especially true during the summer months when they can get particularly busy and face high levels of anti-social behaviour. We are thankful to the staff who have done this.

"We now feel it's time to bring public toilets back in-house to ensure we have direct management and better accountability."

The toilets that are planned to get an upgrade are:

  • Goldstone Villas
  • Hove Lagoon
  • Kings Esplanade
  • Lower Promenade East of Brighton Pier
  • Peter Pan's playground in Madeira Drive
  • Royal Pavilion Gardens
  • Station Road
  • St Ann's Well Gardens
  • The Colonnade
  • The Level
  • Western Esplanade