Debate swirls around Town Hall toilets
THE Warwick Town Hall toilet block may not be saved from taking its final flush.
Southern Downs councillors opted to remove the toilets, thought to date back to the 1930s, and replace them with RV-friendly parking space at its May meeting.
The council was required to check whether the toilets were eligible for heritage listing by the Queensland Heritage Council and a recommendation has since been made to enter it onto the Queensland Heritage Register.
SDRC said the council was advised on Friday that a delegate for the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection CEO has recommended to the heritage council that the toilet block is not entered into the Heritage Register as a feature of the State Heritage Place, the Town Hall and Footballers Memorial.
The Queensland Heritage Council will now have 60 business days from the recommendation date to decide whether a place is or is not entered in the Queensland Heritage Register.
The Heritage Council has the discretion to make a decision that departs from the EHP recommendation, and it expected the council will consider the application at its meeting in Brisbane on August 24.
Mayor Tracy Dobie said that the toilets remain a prime location for crime and vandalism and aren't accessible by people with a disability.
"There are several public toilet facilities located within close proximity, including in Grafton Street, as well as amenities available during business hours in the Town Hall, across the Council carpark near the Art Gallery, within Rose City Shoppingworld and at Leslie Park,” Cr Dobie said.