The Public toilets at Market Yard are set to move forward towards reopening after residents backed plans to redesign the site in a public engagement exercise.
Frome Town Council has agreed to seek a 25-year lease from Somerset Council to enable future investment in the toilets, which has been closed since last year due to ageing infrastructure, high maintenance costs and vandalism.
The decision, made at Full Council on 22nd April, follows engagement with more than 500 residents through the My Frome platform, events and face-to-face discussions.
People were asked to choose between four options, including refurbishment, full rebuild, a reimagined space with another use alongside toilets, or permanent closure with expansion of the You’re Welcome scheme, which allows free access to toilets in local businesses.
The most supported option was a “reimagined space”, combining public toilets with a possible attended information point or concession to help deter anti-social behaviour. Around three quarters of respondents favoured retaining centrally located public toilets over relying on the wider scheme.
Cllr Polly Lamb said it was important to show progress on a long-running issue.
“There was such a strength of feeling when we had to close the toilets and we are still routinely explaining why in every channel that we possibly can and why it wasn’t feasible to keep them open,” she said.
Cllr Nick Dove said securing a long lease was essential before any investment could take place.
“This is an opportunity not just to replace what was there before, but to create something that works better for the whole community and fits into a wider vision for the riverside area,” he said.
A Riverside Advisory Group will be set up to develop proposals for both the toilets and the wider Market Yard and riverside area.
The council took on responsibility for the toilets in 2024 after plans for closure by Somerset Council. An interim arrangement remains in place with the Cheese and Grain providing public access and maintaining the Changing Places facility.
Further updates are expected once lease negotiations progress.
Pictured: Cllr Nick Dove outside the Market Yard toilets
