COUNCILLORS have been left totally disheartened that the ongoing saga over the building of a new public toilet block in Wellington has hit another low.
The project to replace the demolished loos in Longforth Road – which stretches back several years – was under discussion again at Wellington Town Council’s policy and finance committee on Monday (February 10).
The previous toilet block had to be bulldozed after a motorist drove into the building in December 2022 which made it unsafe.
But councillors were left dismayed when they found out this week that an insurance claim made following the car crash had resulted in an offer of just £11,612.38.
And their dismay turned to disbelief when it emerged that the loss adjuster’s surveyor did not visit the site until after the previous toilet block had been demolished in April last year – 16 months after the car crash which had put the loos out of action.
A council report which went before councillors on Monday, February 10, did not fill them with much cheer.
Cllr John Thorne said: “I have to say that the report makes sorry reading. I think as a council we do pretty well and we generally work hard for the town.
“But I think on this occasion we’ve got to hold our hands up and say that we’ve let the town down over this.”
Cllr Thorne added: “We’ve still got people out there who don’t realise what has happened. People are misinformed or uninformed about what is happening.
“We’ve been let down by our insurance company and we should look at getting another insurer in the future. They haven’t done very well on this one.
“The loss adjustor hadn’t visited the toilets until after they’d been demolished - 15 months or so after the car crashed into them.
“The quote we had to demolish the front of the toilet block was more than double what we’ve been offered.
“It’s a ridiculously low offer – we should be contesting this; to get the best deal possible for our council taxpayers.”
A consultation is being carried out among residents to see what their views are on the project as to whether a new toilet block should be built, If they agree that the town council can pay for the works by obtaining an estimated £238,000 loan from the Public Works Loan Board (which provides low-cost finance for local authorities).
But town clerk Dave Farrow told councillors this week that so far the council had received just 37 responses from people.
Cllr Thorne said: “The 37 responses equates to about 0.25 per cent of the Wellington population. The consultation is so insignificant it’s not even worth bringing it into account.
“You might as well go outside and ask one person what they think about it and go with what they tell you.”
A business case will also need to be submitted if the council goes for a loan, but Cllr Thorne said the draft document needed “more meat” added to it.