Rother District Council have successfully secured just over £1million of grant funding to improve and expand the toilet facilities at Camber Central. The proposed Camber Sands Welcome Centre will refurbish and extend the main tourist infrastructure for Camber Sands.
September consultation Event postponed until October – more details to follow.
A Planning application has now been submitted Ref: RR/2023/1743/P click here to view and comment.
The works include increased toilets and a new Changing Places Toilet. The proposals will improve the safe running of our emergency services response throughout our Summer season with a larger first aid space, permanent RNLI storage and separate staffing areas for beach safety. A new kiosk will provide increased sea safety and wildlife information, giving visitors a better understanding of the unique sand dune environment, they visit, whilst providing a small sustainable take-away offer utilising local suppliers. This will be open year-round and out of season, the space can be hired for community uses, schools and by local residents.
Further Project Details
Rother District Council were awarded £943,301 from Community Infrastructure Levy Funding (CIL) in March 2023. In addition to this, Rother District Council were successfully awarded £68,500 from the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to provide a new Changing Places Toilet within the regeneration project. With the significant CIL investment, these proposals will provide sustainable infrastructure for the foreseeable future.
Our pre-planning consultation event was held on 11th August 2023 which was attended by a large selection of residents and local business owners. The project team have taken onboard and lot of comments which are detailed in the planning application a brief summary is outlined below:
| Issue | Response | Change Made |
|---|---|---|
| Water for community garden | This will be included in the moving of the showers to the north side of the building. | A tap will be included for community use and a water Butt installed specifically to feed the community garden. |
| Kiosk might impact current local business | The intention of the kiosk is to hold other required uses such as Sea Safety Information and Dune education as well as a landing space for public queries upon arrival alongside a small takeaway offer. | Further direct consultation with local and adjacent businesses will happen in Autumn to discuss more detailed concerns around the specifics of the offer and the running of the new proposed kiosk. |
| Flooding and surface water concerns | The project team are aware of the difficulties of surface water flooding in the carpark and from the footbaths, this project can only improve that related to the building itself and its uses. | Sustainable drainage is being introduced into the scheme in the form of permeable paving to the exterior this will also house sand traps that are easily maintainable to reduce surface water flooding from the building and footbaths. |
| Concerns with Unisex Toilets | Three separate toilets are required for ongoing cleaning and maintenance which requires shutting toilets throughout the day, as well as meeting up to date equalities legislation. | The names of the toilets will now be clarified as ‘Male Only Toilets’; ‘Toilets’; ‘Femail Only Toilets’ and ‘Disabled Toilets and Baby Change’. To address concerns two ‘Superloos’ have been added to the third toilet facility which include basins within the cubicle. |
