Casey mayor Kevin Bradford wants to see this toilet block pulled down.
By Sarah Schwager
A CRANBOURNE toilet block which has been labelled as a men’s meeting spot could be demolished.
Casey mayor Kevin Bradford will put forward a notice of motion at next week’s council meeting to have the toilets pulled down.
“For too long now the toilets have been used improperly by undesirables with undesirable activity being carried out,” Cr Bradford said.
The toilet block is behind the Cranbourne Police Station near the South Gippsland Highway and Codrington Street.
Cr Bradford said a couple of years ago the council took steps to reduce the amount of time the toilets were open, to make them less attractive to people misusing them.
“But if we reduce these times any further it will defeat the purpose of having a public toilet there,” he said.
Cr Bradford said the council had been as proactive as possible to help limit or prohibit these acts but it had not alleviated the problem.
“The next step to be proactive is to demolish the building and reuse the area for something better, like a small park or some other facility such as a super loo,” he said.
But a police spokesperson said Cranbourne police had made no arrests regarding offensive behaviour-type crime at the toilet block, but regularly patrolled the area and would attend any incidents reported.
Cr Bradford, however, said in taking his own son to the toilets he had become aware of the activity.
He said he and his family were returning from a trip and stopped at the toilet block.
Cr Bradford said he had accompanied his son into the public toilets because he knew of the history.
“Both cubicles were being used not in the manner they were designed for,” he said.
“It was very disturbing. If someone sent a young child in by themselves it could be incredibly dangerous.”
In the notice of motion, council officers will also be asked to suggest a new location for the public toilets or whether it would be more feasible to replace the block with an electric super loo.
