New plush flush for visitors to Selborne.
One of East Hampshire’s most visited villages now has state of the art toilets thanks to East Hampshire District Council. It’s taken six years of planning between Selborne Parish Council, EHDC, the Gilbert White Museum and the National Trust but at last visitors (and locals) who are taken short can spend a penny in clean, hygienic and attractive surroundings. The toilets in the car park behind the Selborne Arms are packed with features including ‘sun tubes’ which pipe natural light into the cubicles from the roof and heated floors to keep them dry.
Designer Brian Redwood says they are also incredibly hygienic:
“Everyone knows that one of the main ways to spread germs is to touch surfaces with dirty hands. In these toilets you don’t have to touch anything – the taps, soap, hand drier and even the flush are operated by passing a hand in front of a sensor.
“We have also made the cubicles extremely accessible – they’re suitable for people with children needing changing facilities, wheelchair users, and visitors who are partially sighted. We even made sure the large number of walkers or hikers who come to Selborne will have room for their rucksacks.”
Cllr David Parkinson, Leader of East Hampshire District Council said:
“I am delighted with the high standard of these toilets, and hopefully as the South Downs National Park opens we shall provide a useful facility for visitors in this popular village.”
The toilets were also carefully designed to be in keeping with rest of the village, which is a conservation area. Special red bricks were chosen to match the red facings that large parts of the village were built with, along with Marlstone that some years ago was quarried within Selborne district. Oak beams and columns were also used.
Hayley Carter, the Landlady of the Selborne Arms said:
“The old toilets were in very bad repair so this really needed doing, particularly as this is such a touristy village. I was the Chairman of the Parish Council at the beginning of this project, and we wanted to make sure the design of the toilets would really suit the village, and I’m really pleased with the results.”
Keith Hellyer, Managing Director of C&G Building Contractors from Waterlooville who built the toilets said:
“This was an interesting project for lots of reasons. The outside is very traditional with handmade bricks, oak beams – but the inside is state of the art. On top of that we were building through the winter so at one point we had two feet of snow to contend with. Despite all that we got it done in time and in budget, so I am very proud of the result.”