St Brelade will spend up to £300,000 on a new toilet block and drains at the Elephant Park after parishioners approved the project at a lively assembly on Tuesday evening.
More than 40 people attended the meeting, chaired by Constable Mike Jackson, with many speaking passionately about the need to replace the existing block, which everyone agreed was in a sorry state and in need of replacement.
However, a number questioned the proposed cost of the new toilets – £250,000 for the block itself and £50,000 for new drains – as well as the £55,000 already spent on current and previously rejected plans to get to this point.
However, after an hour and a half of healthy debate, a proposal to take the money from the parish’s reserve fund was approved by 33 votes to five.
As the parish already has the money in its accounts, there will be no consequential rise in rates this year. However, further funds are likely to be needed in future to upgrade the park itself.
The story of the park’s toilets is as long as its famous elephant’s trunk. An assembly in February 2022 allocated money for designs to be drawn up, but the first proposal – which would have cost £500,000 and included a changing space, more toilets and rooftop solar panels – was rejected by parishioners last year.
On Tuesday, many spoke passionately in favour of replacing the block, including park caretaker Edward Le Couteur, who said that he regularly had to call for the drains to be cleared. He added that he had been told five years ago that the toilets would be replaced, but nothing had happened.
Michelle Vibert, who said that she regularly took her two children to the park, added that the toilets were “absolutely disgusting” and regularly blocked in the summer.
The loudest round of applause was reserved for nine-year-old Raphaelle, who told the assembly: “We need to see the toilets in a better condition. It is not fair for my friends who want to go to the toilet.”
Michael Marett-Crosby said that the parlous state of the current block raised “a genuine and urgent child-protection issue”, adding: “We should be somewhat ashamed of how it is now.”
Although agreeing that the site was “a mess”, builder Nick Durbano said that he thought that the £250,000 demolition and build cost was “£75,000 too much” and he offered to fund the remeasuring of the block by an independent surveyor.
Another builder, Karl Sutton, said he had spoken to six other people in the trade who had all said they could do the work for less than £100,000.
Oliver Ashton, who runs the nearby Off The Rails restaurant, questioned why the work needed to be done over the busy summer period.
He said: “This feels really rushed through and I question why? The work should start in September and be ready for Easter. The children have not been considered for eight years, so why are we pushing it through now?”
Mr Ashton added that he thought the project was “massively overpriced” and said he would have preferred to see an open-bid tender process.
However, project manager Rupert Myers said that four quotes had been received from four reputable local builders, and the price was appropriate in the current environment, which had seen a number of firms go out of business.
This view was supported by parish Deputy Jonathan Renouf, who said: “I was one of the people who helped to stop the £500,000 project because I felt it was too much.
“A working group was then set up, which I was part of, but then the Constable decided to work on it on his own. We have had our differences, but I am now behind this.”
Deputy Renouf added he had seen how much it had cost to build other public toilets around the island, and the £250,000 quote was comparable.
Former Constable Steve Pallett, who is vying to return to the position in June, said that the division could have been avoided if “the consultation had been done in a better way”.
He added: “I think the price is horrendous, but we have to get on with it; child welfare is absolutely vital. I came here to defer the decision to have more time, but I have been convinced that we have waited for too long. This process can never happen again.”
After the assembly had voted, Constable Jackson said: “I am pleased for the children of the parish that we can get on and refurbish this toilet facility, and I’m grateful for the parishioners who came tonight and voted in significant numbers to support it.”
The new block will have a large family space/toilet, three female cubicles, and a single male toilet with urinals. The covered-area design in front will be retained.
The new drains will include a pipe running from the nearby Pisces Gym building, which feeds into the public toilet system.
Meanwhile, the assembly heard that the park’s currently missing elephant slide will be returning next week after some essential maintenance.