Atemporary public toilet has been installed at one of the region’s most popular swimming spots.
Grant District Council on Friday installed a portable toilet at the Little Blue Lake, following ongoing concerns about a lack of facilities at the site.
A concerned local resident and tourism operator brought the matter to the attention of Grant District Council in April.
At the time, Kilsby Sinkhole owner and manager Graham Kilsby called for council to investigate making toilet facilities available at the site.
The matter was raised again at council’s September monthly meeting.
At that meeting, council resolved to write directly to DEW to request the “urgent establishment of toilet facilities”.
While there has been no decision on the installation of a permanent facility, the portable toilet has already proved popular with the lake bustling with activity on the weekend.
Grant Mayor Kylie Boston said council had acknowledged the situation and had taken steps to address the matter.
“This is an interim measure while we negotiate with DEW regarding ownership and amenity,” she said.
“After last summer we recognised the Little Blue is becoming more popular, with more people visiting over the holiday period.
“We also acknowledge that our sinkholes are a special in our landscape and we would like to work with interested parties to work towards a master plan for all sinkholes.
“The toilet only went out yesterday (Friday) so we will monitor it closely over the next few weeks, initial comments are positive, with people hoping that everyone respects the facility.”
The situation has been made complicated due to the complex ownership of the site.
The Little Blue Lake is under the care and control of council, however most of the car park area is Crown land under the care and control of the Department for Environment and Water (DEW).
“Any toilet block at the site would need to be situated on the land controlled by DEW to ensure that waste disposal requirements are assessed as part of a development application,” Mayor Boston said.
“Consideration will also need to be given to the cost of the infrastructure as there is quite a high continuing cost of maintaining these facilities.”