A PUBLIC toilet block in Wellington town centre will not be replaced before February, more than three years since it was severely damaged in a car crash.

The Longforth Road toilets were demolished after a BMW came off the road and crashed into the block in December 2022.

Now, Wellington Town Council is aiming to let a contract for a ‘modular’ building to replace it at its February meeting.

The council had planned to take out a loan from the Public Works Loans Board to cover the near-£250,000 cost but now will pay for it with a combination of unspent council money, insurance received from the council's own insurer of the building, and the insurance claim against the car driver.

Dave Farrow, chief executive/town clerk, said: “The contract for the work is currently out for tender.

“If all goes to plan the council will decide on awarding the contract at its February council meeting.”

The ‘modular’ building will contain two unisex cubicles and an accessible toilet with baby changing facilities, plus a storage room for use by its staff.

The council has faced public criticism for the length of time it has taken to replace the toilets.

It says it has been working with project managers Exeter-based Ravenslade to agree a suitable design and find sub-contractors to carry out the work.

The car crash had caused a partial demolition of the toilets, bringing down masonry and leaving large cracks along its frontage, with the council later decided to fully demolish the building.

The council had previously been looking at knocking down and replacing the toilets and initially had a budget of £145,000 to complete the project.

It was thought that the crash would speed up the replacement of the toilet block but it has lengthened the process and ended up costing the town council more money.