Simon Sloman says that the acts of vandalism at La Pulente include toilet roll holders being set alight, the toilets being blocked with paper and the water supply to urinals being cut off.
But he added that despite the damage, he is still pressing forward with plans to redevelop the site into a café after buying the block for about £120,000 from the States last September.
As part of the arrangement, Mr Sloman, who runs Slomans Estate Agents, agreed to keep the toilets maintained and open to the public. However, after a serious arson attack last year he has been forced to keep the ladies’ toilets closed.
His proposals for the café – which he hopes to submit to the Planning Department next month – include keeping public toilets on the site. However, Mr Sloman said that since he took over ownership, the upkeep of the toilets had proved to be ‘more onerous’ than he had expected due to the level of vandalism.
‘It looks like it’s being deliberately targeted,’ he said. ‘It has been costing us £800
a month to have them cleaned. We’ve had three lots of the plastic toilet roll holders, but they keep getting smashed off the wall and set on fire.
‘I’ve also had to get plumbers there because someone had managed to disconnect the water supply, blocking the urinals.’
The JEP reported last October how the block had been torched by arsonists – which the States police believed was linked to arson attacks on other public toilets at La Mare slip in St Clement, La Rocque Harbour and Jersey Pearl in St Ouen.
‘They have been set on fire as part of a string of arson attacks on public toilets,’ Mr Sloman said. ‘After that, it was agreed with Property Holdings that the ladies’ toilets could be kept shut because they were so badly damaged.
‘The men’s toilets have been cleaned every other day throughout the summer, but people keep putting stuff in them. There was an ongoing problem with vandalism before we got them.’
Mr Sloman added that building a café on the site could prove a deterrent to vandals.
‘The plan is to get rid of the current building,’ he explained. ‘The problem is that it’s hard to keep an eye on the current building because it is so well hidden, and people can go down and vandalise it. The new design will be manned. Once it is, it will be harder to vandalise.
‘We’re about to go to Planning in the next few weeks with a scheme for a café / restaurant. If we get permission, we will be developing over the winter and it will be ready by next spring or summer.’
