A TOILET block in Christchurch town centre is set to reopen three months later than originally planned.

The facilities at Saxon Square are due to be available from this weekend after undergoing a major refurbishment.

Christchurch Borough Council funded the project, which was due to be completed by the end of March as the authority was abolished.

However, it was discovered more work was required than that included in the original plans.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council took over the scheme in April.

Jonathan Ross, BCP Council property, engineering and car parks manager, said: “Due to the age of the property additional works to renovate the public toilets in Christchurch town centre have been required that were not part of the original plans.”

An original budget of £175,000 was set for the project, however, the local authority said additional costs had been incurred due to the changes.

A council spokesperson said full details on the finances would not be available until the works had been completed.

Mr Ross said: “These works have included changes to the internal and external floor levels and drainage layouts, plus significant enhancements to the structural integrity of the building.

“In addition, following the discovery of several leaks in the roof structure, we made the decision to completely re-roof the building.

“The fully renovated toilets are now on schedule for reopening to the public this weekend.”

The project had been due to start last summer, however, tenders came back over an initial smaller budget.

Councillors approved the £175,000 budget and retendered the scheme in the latter months of 2018.

Town centre councillor Peter Hall said; “We had hoped the work would be completed before the food festival in May but due to various issues on site there were delays.

“I am delighted they will be back open and it is about time they were in use again as they are important to the town.”