New chapter in battle for Holt loos site

Holt Town Council is stepping up the pressure in its bid to see a community facility built on the site of former public toilets in the town centre.

North Norfolk District Council has submitted another set of revised plans to build a house on the Church Street toilets site, but as the plans go out to consultation again the town council is striking back.

It is conducting a study to assess the feasibility of turning the site into a community facility such as a tourist information centre or museum.

As part of the study it has drawn up a questionnaire asking people what they would like to see the site turned into and whether they would be prepared to pay 25p per week per household extra on their council tax to ensure it remains in community use.

The questionnaire will be distributed to all homes in the town in the coming weeks.

The Church Street toilets closed in August 2005 and since then arguments have raged as to the future of the site.

North Norfolk District Council, which owns the land, is applying for planning permission so it can get an accurate assessment of the land's value before selling the asset.

Nearly £55,000 of the funds raised from the sale will be used to replenish cash reserves spent on refurbishing what are currently Holt's only other public toilets in Albert Street. The rest will be spent on projects throughout the district. It has refused to donate the land to the town.

In the most recent revision to the planning application the roof apex is the same height all over and an additional window has been added to the front of the house.

Previously it was reported how the district council had already spent more than £5,000 of taxpayers' money on attempts to gain permission to build on the site.

A Freedom of Information request revealed that professional fees, submission costs and officer time to deal with the plan had totalled £5,426 as of January 16 this year.