Decision details

A petition presented by Mr Irving has been received requesting that the capital receipt received from the sale of Broadstairs closed toilets be reinvested in council owned assets in Broadstairs.

Under the Council’s petitions scheme, Council is required to refer the petition to Cabinet without debate for report back to Council.  The wording of the prayer of the petition is:

“We the undersigned wish to petition Thanet District Council regarding the following:

• We request that the income (£350,000) from the sale of a Broadstairs asset, (Viking Bay lift shaft, former toilet and shelter, be reinvested in Broadstairs to improve Broadstairs facilities and infrastructure, specifically the public toilets. These facilities are very important to visitors and residents and require urgent refurbishment and upgrading to reach a standard that reflects peoples expectations in 2017, it will also ensure these facilities present a positive image of a popular coastal resort.”

To continue to process the capital receipts as agreed in the Capital Strategy (approved by Council on 7th February 2019).

The Council has an approved process for funding capital projects as set out on the attached Capital Strategy (approved by council on 7th February 2019) rather than using a ring fenced approach. Routine repairs are administered through Operational Services with works identified and prioritised in line with the available budgets.  Since this petition was received it has been agreed to transfer one of the toilet blocks (Victoria Gardens) to Broadstairs and St Peters Town Council.

The council is looking at options to invest into the facilities including toilets and more information on this will be presented throughout the year.