Council to spend £36,000 revamping public toilets near Taunton cricket ground
A final decision on whether to fund the work is expected to be made this autumn
Taunton Town Council could spend up to £36,000 early in the new year on revamping the nearest public toilets to Somerset County Cricket Club.
The public toilets in the Canon Street car park reopened to the public in March 2025 following an extensive refurbishment alongside the toilets at Hamilton Park, at a combined cost of £250,000.
As part of this refurbishment, space was left within the existing toilet block to allow the later installation of a ‘changing places’ toilet – a larger room, measuring at least 12 sq m, allowing people with disabilities to use the facilities with assistance from carers if needed.
The town council has now indicated that work to install such a facility in Canon Street could be carried out in early-2027 as an estimated cost of £36,000 (including VAT) – but a final decision will be taken in public in the autumn.
In addition to the cricket ground, the Canon Street facilities are the closest public toilets to a wide range of popular amenities – including Taunton Minster, St James’ Church and the town’s ‘independent quarter’ near Coal Orchard.
Taunton currently has two changing place facilities as part of its wider network of public toilets – one on Paul Street (near the town’s library) and one on Tower Street (which is currently closed to the public “pending changes to the access and alarm”, according to the town council’s official website).
Tender documents published on a central government website indicate that the town council intends to install a changing places facility at the Canon Street site by the spring of 2027.
A spokesperson said: “Over the past year, the town council has undertaken a detailed review and consultation exercise in relation to changing places toilets and their supporting arrangements.
“This review actively sought and obtained input from disabled people as the users of these facilities.
“Ideally, the council is looking to have the procurement exercise completed and a contract agreed by the end of February 2027, for the work to be completed and the facility open by May 2027.
“The overall objective of this project is to provide a quality changing places toilet facility with additional supporting technology.”
The new toilet will be equipped with a CAME KMS key system (with users having to register online) in order to provide secure access and protect the toilets from vandalism and anti-social behaviour.
Emergency alarms and fire alarms will be installed as part of the programme, with “accessible and clear signage” on all sides of the block.
The town council has not indicated whether the existing toilets within the block will have to close while the work is carried out.
A spokesperson said: “The notice is a preliminary market engagement notice, rather than a tender to install the facility.
“Having learned from the installation of the Paul Street changing places toilet, our team is exploring whether there is a provider capable of delivering all elements of the project, rather than requiring us to project manage individual contractors. This is the purpose of the market engagement exercise.
“Both the costs and timeline given are estimates and are therefore subject to change.
“Importantly, the operations and assets committee has not yet made a decision on whether to allocate the funding required for the project.
“The current plan is for a proposal to be considered by the committee in the autumn.”