By Michael Newhouse
BRIMBANK City Council has agreed to investigate relocating St Albans’ new state-of-the-art $260,000 public toilet from St Albans Square after local traders complained it was too far away from shops.
What looked like an embarrassing about-face came just two weeks after councillors unanimously agreed to employ toilet company WC Convenience to build and place the new toilet on the St Albans Square site.
At last Tuesday’s council meeting Cr Kathryn Eriksson asked if a better location could be found despite the contract having already been awarded.
“In view of this I feel it is too far away from the Alfrieda St shopping centre,” Cr Eriksson told council.
She tabled a letter from St Albans Traders Association secretary Asip Demiri that called on the council to reconsider the site, raising concerns that shoppers would have to cross the busy Main Rd East to get to the toilets, and that its remote placement would attract drunks.
“The toilets are needed in Alfrieda St, there’s no doubt about it,” Mr Demiri told Star last week.
He said the council had not properly consulted the community over the placement of the toilets.
Council officers will now examine other possible sites while the toilets are being built in New Zealand.
A council spokeswoman last week told Star that officers would continue overseeing the contract while this was happening.
But last Tuesday general manager for engineering and operations Leigh Harrison said any change to the site would likely cause a delay in final placement of the toilets, and could possibly see the cost to council increase above the tender amount of $261,965.
The council had initially planned to put the toilet in Alfrieda St but was forced to consider another site because of underground high voltage cables running through the centre of the street and a resident’s objection.
But some councillors criticised what they said was a backward step.
“We’ve gone down this well-worn path before,” Cr Anthony Abate said at last week’s meeting. “To go back now would only retard the process further.”
Cr Natalie Suleyman pressed the council to seek advice on the legal implications of altering the tender.
“The council is now in a legal obligation after issuing the tendering contract to the appropriate provider,” Cr Suleyman said.
“I think this would set a very bad precedent,” she said.
