A PUBLIC toilet block in Christchurch town centre will be demolished and replaced - with some unisex facilities included in the development.

Members of Christchurch council's community committee unanimously backed the proposals for the toilet block in Saxon Square at a recent meeting.

The work to refurbish the block will come at cost a of £125,000.

A report to the committee, which was altered by members before approval, said the existing facilities are outdated and need upgrading.

They were built in the 1980s and "struggle to cope with demand" due to the small number of cubicles and widths of the cubicles being too narrow for comfortable use.

The report set out a design with three ladies cubicles, four men's, four unisex and two accessible/family cubicles.

However, the committee favoured an arrangement put forward by Cllr Claire Bath of four ladies cubicles, two urinals for men and five unisex cubicles and two accessible/family cubicles.

The approved motion also requested that officers investigate a number of changes to the plan in the report.

This included making one of the family toilets suitable for breast feeding, not having radar key locks on the accessible cubicles and alterations to the external design of the structure.

The council is aiming to start the work in April, with the scheme expected to take three months to complete.

Members voiced concerns of this start date leading to a clash with Christchurch Food Festival.

With this in mind, Cllr Bath said replacement facilities were vital.

"I'm very aware that one of our major events is the food festival, which is in May.

"If that schedule is going to be the case, I wouldn't like it to be delayed, but I think we would need to make sure we have provision for toilet facilities for that event."

Speaking before the committee, Lindsay Cass, Christchurch Borough Council's head of property and engineering, said the new facility will follow current trends and provide a number of individual toilet cubicles accessed from the outside of the building, with some of these being unisex.

The scheme is similar to the toilet block in the Furlong Centre in Ringwood.

The council also hopes the new block would reduce the risk of vandalism and reduce electricity and water consumption..