Byron Council is frequently chastised about the state of the shire’s public toilets but it doesn’t help them get them into better repair when they are deliberately vandalised, as happened in Suffolk Park last week.
Vandals have ‘trashed’ the Sports and Skate Park public toilets, causing an estimated $10,000 plus in damages, according to the council’s executive manager of community infrastructure, Phil Holloway.
Mr Holloway said he was bitterly disappointed when being shown the damage to the toilet block.
‘Council has a very tight budget for public building maintenance and to see deliberate destruction is a real blow. The toilets had the cisterns kicked and smashed, pipes snapped, graffiti throughout and a fire lit.
‘The cost for these repairs will mean that upgrades and or maintenance at other public buildings will now be rescheduled, or not go ahead, in the next twelve months.
‘It really is a case of one step forward, two steps backwards. Council constantly receives feedback on the state of the public toilets. We are aware that the residents would like better facilities, but when they are willfully damaged like this it is hard to make the dollars stretch,’ Mr Holloway said.
This is the second time the Suffolk Park public toilet block has been repaired. Earlier in January this year, Council spent $5,000 on repairs after it was vandalised.
The Suffolk Park toilet block will be closed for at least a month until the graffiti is removed, the building repaired and fittings replaced.
Each year Byron Shire Council spends over $25,000 repairing vandalised public toilets.
Mr Holloway urged residents that if they saw any suspicious behaviour or destruction of community buildings, to call the police immediately.
The vandalism at the Suffolk Park public toilet block has been reported to the police.