The King's Hall public toilets would move 350m east to the beach huts on East Cliff, adding an accessible toilet and baby change. Cabinet votes 5 Oct.

The public toilets attached to the King’s Hall in Herne Bay would be replaced by a new block 350 metres along the seafront. It would sit near the new beach huts on the East Cliff Promenade and cost an estimated £135,000.

Canterbury City Council’s Cabinet is recommended to approve the move on Monday 5 October. The officers’ report says it is about a four to five minute walk from the current toilets.

The new block would also add something the current one lacks: an accessible toilet with baby changing.

Why the toilets are moving

The toilets are coming off the building as part of the King’s Hall refurbishment. They were a late addition that blocked up the pavilion’s west-facing windows, which the report says have “the best sea views”.

The council has already cleared those toilet lobbies for demolition under its own application in September. This report decides where the public toilets go instead.

Inside the hall, toilet provision is being increased by 35 per cent, to meet guidelines for a venue holding 600 people. So the report says there will be no need to open public toilets for big events. Hall visitors would use the toilets inside.

What would change

Now, at the King’s Hall Proposed, East Cliff Promenade
Toilets Two ladies’ and one men’s with urinal Two unisex single toilets and one accessible toilet
Accessible toilet None Yes, with a ramp
Baby changing None Yes, in the accessible toilet
Summer hours, 1 Apr to 30 Sep 7.30am to 8pm Same
Winter hours, 1 Oct to 31 Mar 7.30am to 4pm Same

The unit would be a modular building on a 300mm concrete platform, with a further 150mm upstand against storms. The report accepts that heavy storms could throw shingle onto the promenade. It says the council’s engineering team would clear it promptly. CCTV “is being considered”, with cost and timing not yet assessed.

The three options

Officers looked at three sites:

  • Option 1, on the King’s Hall site. £150,000 for the modular unit, plus £35,000 to cut into the bank and build a retaining wall, about £12,000 for temporary portable toilets during the works, and extra drainage, water and electrical costs not yet priced. The report says it would tighten an already tight turning circle for emergency vehicles, make disabled parking harder, and could put off future operators of the hall. Not recommended.
  • Option 2, East Cliff Promenade near the beach huts. £135,000 including the ramp and slab. Utilities are already there and the promenade is 10 metres wide. Recommended.
  • Option 3, the former National Coastwatch and coastguard lookout on East Cliff. Ruled out because the council no longer owns it. It was let on a long lease in 2006.

The report says the East Cliff unit could be in place in around six months. That would avoid hiring portable toilets while the King’s Hall ones are closed, saving about £12,000.

Why East Cliff

The report ties the choice to what is happening on that stretch of seafront. There are 30 new beach huts already built there, with permission for another 54. A sauna is proposed nearby, and the report says the site also serves visitors to the art installations to the east.

It also says the site keeps a sensible gap between Herne Bay’s toilets and those at Reculver. Other public toilets remain at the Bandstand.

No public consultation is planned. The report says one is not needed because the toilets are being “improved and relocated within just 350 metres”. The council’s planning department has confirmed the block can go up under permitted development rights, so no planning application is required.

What it means for you

If you use the King’s Hall toilets from the promenade, they will go once the refurbishment work closes them. The replacement would be a short walk east, near the beach huts, and unlike the current block it would include an accessible toilet and baby change. Opening hours would stay the same.

The decision is at Cabinet at 7pm on Monday 5 October at the Guildhall, St Peter’s Place, Canterbury. The agenda allows members of the public to speak on the item for up to three minutes, if they notify Democratic Services by 12.30pm on Friday 2 October.

Sources