Contractors have begun installing a new public toilet block at the Lower Hakatere Huts.

The two-cubicle block replaces public toilets that have been in use for many decades, and are considered earthquake-prone.

The new block will include one accessible cubicle, designed to better accommodate people with physical disabilities. An outside basin is also part of the facility’s design.

The work zone has been fenced off and the contractors are onsite from today, Monday 7 April. The first part of the project is installing tanks and a concrete base, and the toilet block itself has been manufactured off site and will be delivered later.

Sewage is discharged into a dry vault holding tank, which is pumped out regularly and taken to a treatment plant for disposal.

The existing public toilets will remain until the new block is complete, and will then be demolished.

Work is also planned for the old concrete block changing shed, opposite the existing public toilets. The concrete base will be retained and a new steel frame installed later this year, to turn the facility into a shelter.