Plea for old toilet blocks to become coffee kiosk

A volunteer group have called on a council to re-think a decision to knock down a block of toilets and instead want to turn it into a coffee bar.

The Brixham Railway Heritage Trail group have been working to convert the old Brixham to Churston railway line into a walking and cycling route.

The volunteers would like to use the disused block as a coffee and information kiosk.

Torbay Council had said the building was derelict, the roof had started to collapse and also attracted anti-social behaviour and planned to demolish it in April.

The volunteers plan to create a traffic-free route from a site close to the station at Churston to Brixham, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The line was closed in 1963 after a report by Dr Beeching which spelled the end for thousands of stations and hundreds of branch lines.

The group's chair Glen Gardner said work at other locations had already begun on clearing undergrowth in readiness for the trail's opening in the future.

Gardner said: "We would love to eventually re-purpose this little bit of history [the toilet block] as a Brixham Railway Heritage Trail information point and coffee bar, working with a local coffee shop business."

Torbay Council said in a statement the "current condition necessitates significant investment to make it safe and suitable for any future use".

A spokesperson said they were aware of the interest however "restrictive covenants affecting the site mean we cannot grant a long term lease in the building".

The council said it "did not see it viable for any prospective occupier to bring the structure back into use" so demolition "remained the most appropriate option".

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