Public Conveniences and Changing Places Facility

General Information

The public conveniences across the Island were originally run by the Isle of Wight Council. In recent years, in order to save money, the Isle of Wight Council approached Town and Parish Councils to request that they take on the facilities in their areas. To avoid closure of the facilities the Town Council took over three public conveniences in Sandown: St John's Road, Eastern Gardens and Yaverland.

The facilities were not in good condition when they were taken on and the town council is currently undertaking a program of major capital investment to reprovision at the sites for which it is responsible.

The toilets at Pier Street are still owned and operated by the Isle of Wight Council with the site being up for sale and earmarked for development. Sandown Town Council are contributing to running costs of opening these facilities during the season and other key periods until the sale goes through and the future of the toilets has been confirmed.

Cleaning and Maintenance

The toilets are cleaned and maintained on behalf of the town council by Danfo (UK) Ltd. Any defects or other issues can be reported directly to them 24/7 on 01253 593 141.

St John's Road

Location

St. John's Road, Sandown, PO36 8ER

Opening times and charges

The facilities are open 8:00 to 18:00.

20p per use - coin or contactless

Radar key access during opening hours

Facilities

Single unisex unit

Unisex DDA compliant accessible unit with automatic door and baby change facilities.

Other information

The original facilities at St Johns were thought to have been installed in the late 1070's/early 1980's. Split into a ladies with two partitioned cubicles, a gents with a cubicle and urinal and disabled access via a ramp. ST johns were very tired and dated with one of the cubicles in the ladies permanently closed and ongoing issues with the urinal. There were also ongoing issues with vandalism

In 2020, the town council made the decision to re-provision the facilities at St John's. A public consultation was undertaken which supported moving to unisex units and introducing charges. Following a tender process which explored different options it was agreed that the existing building would be retained. The contract for the works was awarded to Danfo (UK) Ltd and the new toilets were opened in August 2021.

The new facilities are designed to reduce anti-social behaviour and damage from vandalism. There are no communal areas increasing the safety of users. The units are serviced from behind the cubicle wall and fixtures are built in. In the cubicle there are sharp chutes installed as standard and a waste chute for customers to use that feed into the relevant containers in the service room. This greatly reduces the instances of sharps and waste inside the cubicle. Lighting is designed to come on when a person enters a cubicle and turn off when a person leaves a cubicle. There are automatic handwash facilities and flush settings designed to increase efficiency and the facilities are heated during the winter.

Eastern Gardens

Location

Avenue Road Slipway, Sandown, PO36 8AS - by the Sundial Cafe

Opening times and charges

The facilities are open 8:00 to 18:00.

Radar key access during opening hours

20p per use - coin or contactless

Radar key access during opening hours

Facilities

Single unisex unit

Unisex DDA compliant accessible unit and baby change facilities.

Two Beach showers (summer season only)

Other information

The facilities are thought to be in place since the 1980's, added to an older building not designed for use as public toilets and are in poor condition. There were ongoing issues with vandalism. In 2020, the town council made the decision to re-provision the facilities at Eastern Gardens. A public consultation was undertaken which supported moving to unisex units and introducing charges. Following a tender process which explored different options it was agreed that a new unit would be commissioned and placed on the adjacent raised site next to the southern water pumping station. The contract for the works was awarded to Danfo (UK) Ltd and the new toilets opened in March 2023.

The new facilities will include a fully DDA compliant unisex accessible unit with baby change facilities and three unisex cubicles. The units are designed to reduce anti-social behavior and damage from vandalism. There are no communal areas increasing the safety of users. The units are serviced from behind the cubicle wall and fixtures are built in. In the cubicle there are sharp chutes installed as standard and relevant waste chutes. This greatly reduces the instances of sharps and waste inside the cubicle. Lighting is designed to come on when a person enters a cubicle and turn off when a person leaves a cubicle. There will be automatic handwash facilities and flush settings designed to increase efficiency and the facilities will be heated during the winter. There are also two beach showers on site. The outside of the facilities includes an update seaside theme. Charges will be introduced with both coin and contactless accepted.

Changing Places

In September 2023, Aster Bannerman were engaged to convert the old toilet block at Eastern Gardens into a Changing Places facility to provide facilities at the beach for those who cannot access them independently. Work started in December 2023 and the facilities are expected to open in April 2024.

Old Toilets at Eastern Gardens

Work began in December 2023.

Aster Bannerman's Proposed Changing Places Layout

Yaverland

Location

Yaverland Road, Sandown, PO36 8QB - opposite Sandown Zoo

Opening times and charges

The facilities are open 8:00 to 18:00.

Facilities

Female Toilet - Three cubicles and an accessible cubicle.

Male Toilet - Two cubicles and an accessible cubicle

Cleaning and Maintenace

The toilets are cleaned and maintained on behalf of the town council by Danfo (UK) Ltd. Any defects or other issues can be reported directly to them 24/7 on 01253 593 141.

Other information

Built in the early noughties, the facilities are becoming difficult to maintain with drainage issues and vandalism. The Town council consulted on reprovisioning the site as part of the 2023/2024 budget consultation and subsequently made provision to apply for a loan from the PWLB to undertake these works.