Public toilets planned for new tourist attraction and parks

The local council are implementing a number of new tourist attractions and parks facilities with public toilets in mind.

The development of the Dublin Mountains Visitor Centre, Rathfarnham Stables and Courtyards, Tallaght Heritage Centre, the 12th Lock Masterplan and the Lucan House Masterplan are all set to include new public facilities.

The local authority stated that this move will aim to support “the overall visitor experience” at these new locations and pointed to a previous development where such facilities were installed.

A statement from South Dublin County Council said: “All of these public attractions when developed will include toilet facilities for the public, supporting the overall visitor experience for people visiting these destinations and enjoying their cultural and amenity value.

“In delivering its tourism objectives, the council has already developed the Brú Chrónáin Round Tower Visitor Centre in Clondalkin, which also provides toilets for use by visitors to this tourism destination.”

This follows news that locations across Clondalkin Village have been shortlisted as possible spots to place a new public toilet, which is expected to be introduced in line with the finalised Local Planning Framework.

Civic Offices, Brú Chrónáin and Watery Lane are among the sites listed as possible hosts of a public toilet in the village.

However the cost of the introduction of a public toilet facility in Clondalkin is yet to be measured and is based on whichever site is chosen as a preference, according to South Dublin County Council’s Parks Superintendent David Fennell.

The local authority’s Parks and Open Space Strategy also allows for the provision of public toilets, with an emphasis on them accompanying visitor facilities such as coffee shops or tea rooms.

However, this may not be feasible for every location and the council noted that they would consider other supervised locations or work in partnership with nearby community centres to fill in the gap.

Coffee shops such as Ruff Café in Corkagh Park, Clondalkin has public toilet facilities available to all park users.

A coffee shop with sports changing facilities has been provided in Airlie Park in Adamstown.

Tymon Park Centre recently opened at Tymon Park, with coffee shop, meeting space/activity area, public toilets and an outdoor terrace to facilitate intergenerational outdoor use that can interact with the park location.

SDCC stated: “These facilities increase dwell time in the park and provide for toilet facilities in a pleasant, supervised and easy to maintain manner.”

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.