The Pavilion Plans Part 11 – Toilets

This is the eleventh in my series of articles about the plans for the Pavilion. Why would I want to devote a whole post to the subject of toilets!

When we spoke to the District Council they indicated that they were looking to reduce their commitment to providing toilets in almost every large village and town. They asked us if we could include this provision into our plans.

• We had nowhere in the building to store things of any size. • There was a toileting requirement for Theatre, far larger than we could cater for within the building. • We had not got a proper unloading area for equipment; needed for the events that would be put on. • We would probably have to build an extension for the goods lift in any case.

As a result it became clear that to take over the existing toilet block; move it to the side of the building; add a further story to it; and use the remaining space as a loading area would, together, give us the solution that we were looking for.

The whole process rests on our ability to re-build the block on the side of the building and to use the toilets, on some evenings, as part of the capacity of the building.

The existing toilet block is hardly pleasant, over 50% of respondents to our survey said that the toilet facilities “could be much better” and only 18% thought “They are OK”. No-one responded yes to the question “Matlock Bath is over-provided”!

We could provide much better toilets, but only if we can have them locked at night. Much of the damage occurs at night. Apart from Illuminations nights, very few people use the toilets after around 6-7pm. In any case there are other toilets near the War Memorial and we would have the Pavilion toilets open for Illuminations nights.

From this thought process arrived the idea that toilets, with two entrances, would be the best solution. One entrance, open during the day, allows members of the public to use the toilets; but not enter the building. A second entrance connects the toilets to the rest of the Pavilion. This entrance would be open during evenings, when the full capacity is required; see my post four.

The number of spaces in the toilet would be the difference between the requirement for normal use, when people can go at any time, and Theatre use; when use of the toilets is concentrated into a narrow timeframe. So where people are free to move around the building, the downstairs toilets will be closed to the building; and completely closed in the evening. When the seats are out, and for instance there is Theatre or Classical Music in the ballroom, the internal door only would be open.

Within this proposal there may be some conflicts in the use, but good management of the facility should avoid these from causing confusion. Matinee Theatre events would be an example of this and, either we will not be able to do them, or we have to manage the movement of people during the interval.

This is not an idealistic solution to the problem, but it is a cheaper and workable solution.

Gregor