Chatsworth toilets face uncertain future
Brooksby’s Walk toilets were ‘refurbished’ last year. Photograph: Clapton Improvement Society
Clapton residents and traders are worried about the future of the Chatsworth Road public toilets after it emerged that Homerton Hospital is hoping to buy and redevelop the site to build a sickle cell centre.
The public toilets on Brooksby’s Walk in Clapton were empty for close to two decades before being refurbished and cleaned up by local residents. Since last year, the toilets have been open for locals and Sunday Chatsworth Road market goers.
The Clapton Improvement Society is urging people to sign a petition to save the public toilets, which they say are crucial for the market and the surrounding community.
The organisation was granted planning permission on 17 April to convert the toilets into an events café with a roof terrace and solar panels. The former gents would serve as commercial premises consisting of an art gallery, café, and a cocktail bar and wine bar in the evenings. The ladies would be a unisex, staffed toilet, financed by revenue from the commercial operation.
Speaking on behalf of the Clapton Improvement Society, Jon Aldenton said: “We’re very much in support of the clinic. We just need to be imaginative – there is plenty of space on the existing site for the clinic, they could easily design the clinic and let us keep the toilets.”
Mr Aldenton added: “We want to be nice with them and we want them to be good neighbours. I think it’s about having a good architect.”
“The whole joy of London is that there are lots of bits that are quirky and different because there are people that won’t sell parts of the sites.”
The Chatsworth Road Traders and Residents Association (CRTRA) have expressed their concern about the news.
The CRTRA said in a statement: “We are very concerned with the news that the hospital are looking to acquire this site. It is the only publicly owned site along Chatsworth Road and the only feasible location for public toilets for our high street.
“Public toilets are a critical element for any high street, particularly for the elderly and young children. On market days, when the street is busier that usual, there are no facilities for traders and visitors to use other than local cafes, which is taking its toll on their facilities.”
CRTRA committee member Euan Mills added: “The community has been working hard over the last few years to breathe life back into Chatsworth Road and the introduction of the Sunday street market has been a great addition. Getting rid of the public toilets at this stage makes no sense. Hackney Council would need to provide them in the future as the market grows and the street becomes more popular.”
The CIS petition has already received hundreds of signatures and they are expecting many more. “Last time we got 1000 signatures in a month, when we wanted the toilets in the first place,” said Aldenton.
CIS has said that they will be meeting with the deputy mayor to discuss the matter further, while the council has said it will make a decision once it has seen final plans for the projects.
Hackney Council has confirmed that Homerton Hospital has sent in a proposal, but the council have not yet decided what they will do.
A Hackney Council spokesperson said: “The Council wants to ensure the Brooksby’s Walk toilets site is used for the benefit of the local community. We have two proposals on the table, both of which would achieve this.
“Although nothing has been decided yet we want to try to find a solution that meets both parties’ aims, including the provision of a public toilet. So, in a few months time, once we have seen the final plans from Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the Council will decide which proposal to move forward with.”
The Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust now has up to 16 weeks to produce a more detailed plan showing why the site is so important to its plans. They aim to provide a sickle cell day care unit and the Hackney Renal Dialysis Unit from the site, which would include a public toilet.
Nancy Hallett, the trust chief executive, is in dialogue with stakeholders about this and has offered to meet parties.
Commenting on the situation, Ms Hallett said: “With regard to the Brooksby Walk public toilets, I can confirm that the Homerton is hoping to purchase the space in order to develop a new walk-in health and social care sickle cell centre on the hospital site.
“The Homerton currently manages 800 people with sickle cell disease but there are very many more people in Hackney who carry the risk factor (for having a child with the condition). Sickle cell disease is a serious condition associated with disability and reduced life span. We have inpatient and day case beds for patients presenting in sickle crisis.
“Screening in pregnancy or preparation for pregnancy is also a major part of our work. More space, more services and more support for sickle patients are however very much needed. This is what we want to use the Brooksby space for. We would be more than willing to see if we could also re-provide public toilets as part of this development.”