Southern Water refurbishes ticket office and loos at Blackrock Volks Railway Station
Southern Water and Brighton & Hove City Council today celebrated the completion of a refurbishment of the ticket office and toilets at Black Rock Volks Electric Railway station.
Southern Water and Brighton & Hove City Council today celebrated the completion of a refurbishment of the ticket office and toilets at Black Rock Volks Electric Railway station.
A ribbon cutting ceremony, Cllr Gary Wilkinson, Chair of the Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee alongside Southern Water’s wastewater chief John Penicud.
There are plenty of iconic journeys in Brighton – zoom up the Brighton i360 tower, take the bus to Ditchling Beacon or Devils Dyke. Or even whizz down the zip wire. But there is no trip that says “Brighton” like a journey on the world’s oldest electric train line: the Volks Railway.
However, the ticket office at Black Rock, the marina end of Madeira Drive on Brighton’s seafront had become rundown with leaky roofs and an unusable public loo.
So, when Southern Water was doing some work to improve the vital pumping station below the block, it was obvious there was some good work to be done above ground. The office and loos have been refurbished at a cost of £366,000 and Brighton & Hove City Council will now take on the running of the toilets and the station will be used by the Volks Electric Railway.
The public toilets will be open 10am to 4pm until the end of March then will switch to summer opening hours.
“Black Rock is a mission critical asset for Brighton & Hove. In dry weather, it shifts all our wastewater to the state-of-the-art treatment works at Peacehaven where 51 million litres is treated on a dry day. When it rains the site works even harder – a giant storm tunnel runs from the King Alfred to Black Rock, big enough to drive a bus through,” said project manager Stuart Bettis.
The tunnel can hold 150,000 tonnes of water and last year Black Rock used enough energy to power the average British home for 66 years just shifting storm water. Because of the tunnel built by Southern Water, Brighton almost never has storm overflows. But the project cost £40 million in 1995 (around £100 million in today’s money)[RH1]
“Working with Brighton & Hove City Council has been great. Their teams recognise that public toilets near the beach are as important to bathing water quality as the storm tunnel and have bent every limb to help us deliver on time,” said Stuart, “It’s wonderful to have the council and local MP here to cut the ribbon and reopen the block.”
Said John Penicud, Managing Director of Southern Water’s wastewater business:
“We’re delivering huge projects across the region – investing up to £10 billion in improving services to customers, building and improving assets and protecting the environment – but there’s something special about being involved in this historic site and even more special in cooperating with partners like Brighton & Hove to provide vital facilities for the millions of tourists who come here every year.”
Councillor Birgit Miller, Cabinet member for Culture, Heritage and Tourism, said: "We’ve heard loud and clear from residents how frustrating it’s been not having access to public toilets in this area and how crucial they are to ensuring older people, children and anyone with health needs can get out and enjoy the seafront.
"Reopening them wasn’t as simple as fitting them out, Southern Water needed to carry out significant operational work to make it possible.
"I’m really pleased we’ve worked together to find a solution that means residents and visitors will have access to facilities again as well as a fantastic new station for the Volks Electric Railway.
"With the refurbishment of Black Rock and the reopening of the Temple and Reading Room, this part of the seafront is truly coming back to life."