2 February 2023
On 22 December 2022, a new shower and toilet block facility located at the end of Jamestown Wharf opened to the public. The facility is a purpose built, locally made containerised solution.
The block offers free-to-use shower and toilet facilities, providing local and visiting water users with a vital resource in a high demand area, replacing the old fixed building which used to house similar amenities. During inspections of the previous facility, surveyors noted that the previous structure displayed signs of serious structural failing along with drainage issues that required immediate attention. The scale of the issues meant that the cost required to address these were extensive and were not deemed to be value for money.
Delivering a containerised solution on the same site provided a number of benefits. It has led to improved hygiene standards, resolved the previous drainage issues and has provided disability friendly facilities at international standards. The new facility also sits on the same site as the previous block and the outer wall of the old facility remains in place, meaning the new block remains in character with the area.
Another key benefit of the new facility is that it can be relocated if needed. Once cargo transfer activities are fully moved to the new purpose built facility at Ruperts Wharf, it will be possible to reposition Jamestown Wharf to focus more on leisure activities. Although this remains several years away, in the event a wharf development plan identifies alternative locations of public toilet and / or shower facilities, the new containerised block can be easily relocated.
Christopher Peters, Civil Engineer in the Technical Services section, said:
“This new block delivers a fit-for-purpose facility in one of the areas where it is most needed. I would like to extend our thanks to the contractors AMD engineering, Solomons and our colleagues in the SHG Building Maintenance section. This project was delivered at pace, so getting it over the line ahead of the arrival of the first yachts in December 2022 required the support of lots of different parties across the Island.”
SHG
1 February 2023