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Frinton: Portfolio holder quizzed over toilets
8:11am Tuesday 19th February 2008
Comments (5)A £500,000 toilet block has been branded a "disgrace" by a district councillor.
Matthew Patten (Cons, Bradfield, Wrabness and Wix) slammed the council's spend on the loos in Frinton at a corporate management committee meeting yesterday.
He said: "In the budget, the council are planning to spend £1 million on Jaywick, which is third on the list in the country in terms of deprivation.
"It's a disgrace that £500,000 has been spent on some bogs in Frinton."
Committee members challenged environment portfolio holder, Michael Talbot, on the reasons behind the high costs for the block in Connaught Avenue.
The St Osyth and Point Clear councillor said: "The toilets were one of three major projects, with the other two the new Clacton leisure centre and the town centre redevelopments.
"As the toilets are located in a conservation area, they had to have as many environmentally friendly features as possible.
"For example, there's a storage tank to collect rain water, which will be used to flush the toilets.
"These features will help to cut costs, and will save about £40,000 over the 50-year life of the block."
He added: "We always appreciated the toilets would be expensive, but they are something that we can all be proud of."
But some committee members remained unconvinced, in light of budget plans to introduce toilets in Clacton and Dovercourt for just £50,000 each.
The portfolio holder himself admitted that the sum wasn't large enough.
"I don't think you can construct a brick-built toilet for £50,000," he said.
"Possibly you could have prefabricated blocks for that amount."
As a result of Mr Talbot's admission, Mr Patten successfully proposed a motion to formally state the committee's concerns about the budget proposals with regard to the toilets.
He said: "There is a serious discrepancy between the figures presented to the committee and what the portfolio holder has said.
"We're being asked to vote on these toilets in Clacton and Dovercourt when there is a major doubt in our ability to finance them.
"The costs seem out of kilter with any sense of reality."
The budget proposals will be voted on this evening at a meeting of the full council at 7.30pm at the Prince's Theatre in Clacton Town Hall.
Your Say YourClacton and Frinton Gazette
Fed Up, N E essex says...
4:45pm Tue 19 Feb 08
wat tyler, clacton on sea says...
4:13pm Wed 20 Feb 08
vicar, says...
5:16pm Wed 20 Feb 08
You're all conveniently ignoring the fact that both Clacton AND Dovercourt will each shortly be provided with a chamber-pot secured to a tree by an expensive (if short) length of chain.
These facilities will be partially funded from council tax paid by the gentlefolk of Frinton. You will not find them on here complaining about the expense.
To help reduce running and maintenance costs a fee of 50p will be charged for their use. There will be no concessionary discounts. A leading councillor said, "We gave a lot of thought to the possibilty of reducing payments for pensioners, children and the unwaged but in the end we decided F*** 'em. Er... that tape recorder's not still running, is it?"
Captain Invinceable..(ta-daa
a), West Clacton`s lost village says...
8:27pm Wed 20 Feb 08
This double delight of toiletry splender would then consume the whole budget allocation in one easye go...
Just think, not one royal palace, but one at each end.
This heralded landmark would bring back the Towns lost visiters in such H U G E volumes, the one solitary fee paying car park would soon be over run.
As this poses another question, just how much do visiters pay to park in Frinton....
(answers on a post card, sent to HRH the sultan of Frinton)
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Concerned Clacton Resident, Outside the Precious Gates says...
9:33am Tue 19 Feb 08
In time gone by, the lesser workers had to build HUGE mausoleum`s for their ruling masters when they "past - on"
Is this the reason for the Taj Mahal of Frinton`s use i wonder...
The frontal aspect of the building resembles an ancient samuri warriers hat, but wider - bigger, but for who`s head would it fit..?
The entrance for this building is likening it to a public entrance for a football ground, or some other exciting pay to see event, not an overpriced basic bodily function cubical.
Not only is the building overpriced, the so called lanscaping looks like its been done by 6 year olds on a day school trip, bored, but got to achieve something.
The convenient (no joke intended) outside coach only parking bay is to "capture" is content of cross legged time travellers, who bursting at the seems will look on in agony if no magical 20p pieces of gold can be found to feed the empty solitary slot to relieve the p payers pains..
Historicaly, elswhere in OUR (not just frinton) borough we have dire need of refurbishment, upgrade and regeneration needs NOW.
Harwich and Dovercourt need money spent now.
Jaywick, the Towns forgotten village is also likening it it a fairy story, of tales spoken, of cinderella`s ball, be home soon or change back into a pumpkin.
The tragic thing about some of Frintons elected, is that in the real world, the realizasion that its now gone past the magical midnight hour, so yourself Cinder`s, your Ball is nearly over, you are turning into comic book subjects with no real substinance...
Half a Million pounds indeed...more like a fairy story..
What next, £30,000 for a seaside love shack restoration project....away with the fairies boy`s....