THE PRICE of making a Petersfield toilet block more accessible for people with disabilities has been revealed.

East Hampshire District Council will spend nearly £130,000 on providing a Changing Places Toilet in central car park.

The build will cost £83,000 with £30,000 going on designs and fees. Eighteen parking spaces will be lost during an expected three-month construction period.

Six parking spaces will be permanently lost along with £9,500 in annual parking income with work expected to start this month.

The council was given £100,000 in 2022 by the Department of Levelling Up to provide modular Changing Places toilet facilities at central car park and Queen Elizabeth Country Park, with half that sum being given to the county council for work at the latter.

Bosses felt a permanent structure would be more suitable at the town centre site with Genesis Architects Ltd being appointed and quoting £129,400 for the total project, excluding VAT.

The council had already put aside £30,000 from the South Downs National Park Authority for the scheme along with £20,000 from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).

A further £12,000 from the council’s Regeneration and Prosperity Directorate was also added to the pot with councillors agreeing in December to commit a further £17,000 of developer contributions to the scheme.

Contingency funds have also been set aside.

Changing Places Toilets have been mandatory in new buildings since 2020 with the government offering funding in recent years to add them to existing sites.

The facility will include accessibility aids, a ceiling hoist and a height adjustable adult changing bench.

The council believes the loss of parking income will be offset by motorists using EHDC spaces around town, with parking “never reaching full capacity in the town”.