The Indiana.
Camera IconThe Indiana. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Cottesloe throne a lifeline as beach dunnies wrap up

Jon BassettWestern Suburbs Weekly

COTTESLOE’S beach toilet fiasco has ended with the town’s council agreeing to sub-lease the controversial public facilities under the Indiana Restaurant at a special meeting last Friday.

“We will get in and clean straight away, because I am not quite sure what condition they are in inside,” Cottesloe Mayor Phil Angers said.

Orange potables brought into relieve the lack of facilities were removed on Friday.

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It will cost the council about $70,000 each year to clean the public toilets, which have been labelled unclean, smelly and blocked in past years.

Having no public toilets on Perth’s highest-profile beach was caused when Indiana operator Chris Taylor closed the facilities under this building on August 23.

“We advised the council (about closure) when they confirmed that we were relieved of the obligation officially in August 17, 2017 to operate the public toilets and change rooms,” Mr Taylor said .

The closure came a year after his claimed warning to the council the action would be taken because the restaurant was not obliged to provide public toilets, and his email to the council in early August said the toilets would be closed on August 23 when about $85,000 used to run them would be finished.

Indiana and the landlord council have been arguing about who runs the toilets, in a controversial lease until 2041, for many years.

Mr Taylor said the council rejected Indiana’s offer to keep the toilets open if the local government cleaned them in March, when councillors gave staff permission to get portables immediately if the toilets were shut.

However, it took 10 days for the replacements when the threat was made real three weeks ago.

A council spokeswoman said it was initially thought one toilet had been closed, but after finding both locked the council first “exhausted” getting Indiana to agree the council operate the facilities in the interim, after which the “last resort” was the portables.

A public meeting about toilets is at Cottesloe Civic Centre, Broome Street, 7pm this Wednesday.