Amity Point folk want Old Schoolhouse Park public toilet replaced by Council

Amity (Pulan) on North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah)

There was plenty of toilet talk at the Redland City Council meeting this week, talk about public toilets that is.

Last year the Council removed a public toilet from the Old Schoolhouse Park at Amity Point on North Stradbroke Island.

The Council told the local community that these toilet facilities were little used, not up to standard and other public toilets were available at Picnic Point, about 500 metres away from Old Schoolhouse Park.

This Council decision in 2022 provoked outrage from the local community.

At the meeting on Wednesday councillors were presented with a petition about removal of the public toilets at Old Schoolhouse Park.

Amity Point resident Sherelle Howard spoke about the importance of this toilet to the local community, during Public Participation in the Council meeting..

And then councillors spent 27 minutes discussing a motion from Cr Peter Mitchell that Council include funding in the forthcoming capital works budget to provide new toilets at this location together with a covered area with table and chairs.

In his opening address Cr Mitchell (who has been Amity Point’s division councillor since 2016) acknowledged that the old, now demolished toilets, had been poorly maintained by the Redland City Council.

In putting forward his motion, Cr Mitchell noted that a massive 40-50% of the local community wanted the toilets replaced.

Public toilet management

Council officer Dr Nicole Davis explained to elected councillors that the Council strategically manages over 110 public toilets.

The Council provides toilets at destination parks where people come and spend hours but a lot of local parks (such as the Amity Point Old Schoolhouse Park) which are used mainly by local residents for shorter time periods, don’t get facilities.

Dr Davis advised that the cost to replace toilets at Old Schoolhouse Park was estimated by Council officers to be about $500,000.

She added that the Council had been giving some thought to meeting the community’s needs by making publicly accessible the toilets at the Amity Community Centre which is about 250 metres away from Old Schoolhouse Park.

Council records of toilet paper packets supplied were provided by Dr Davis to compare low use of the demolished toilets with higher use of other public toilets in Redlands.

Public toilet location	Packets of Toilet Paper per month
Amity Point – Old Schoolhouse Park	10
Amity Point – Picnic Point	181
Point Lookout – Headland Park	385
Redland City median	35

Toilet motion gets watered down

A majority of councillors objected to giving this project the green light because haggling over spending on community infrastructure behind closed doors is how Redland City Council customarily make spending decisions.

So the motion was watered down and the priority of Amity Point’s needs will be considered later, as part of the Council’s secretive budget process.

You can view a video recording of the Council meeting.

The Council’s 2023/24 Budget is scheduled to be unveiled and adopted at a special Council Meeting on 26 June 2023.

Public toilet information

Redland City Council explains its approach to management of public toilets.

You can find the location of public toilets anywhere in Australia by using the National Public Toilet Map.

Redlands2030 – 17 February 2023