Preston Railways Station toilets to close for up to eight weeks for upgrade

The toilets at Preston station are to close for up to eight weeks as part of a major overhaul of the facilities.

Train operator Avanti West Coast, which runs the busy rail interchange, is set to carry out what it describes as a “complete refurbishment” of the passenger toilets on platforms 3 and 4.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands the work is due to begin late this month and be completed by the end of March. During the upgrade, temporary toilets will be made available, which will be signposted and put in place a week before the closure.

The male and female facilities – along with two adapted toilets for disabled travellers – will be revamped, while the corridor leading to the toilet area will also be spruced up.

The refurb has been given the green light by council planners who concluded the changes would not damage the character of the historic building. Special permission was required for the facelift, because the station – which dates back to 1880 – is Grade II-listed.

As part of the upgrade, all of the fittings – including WCs, urinals, sinks and cubicle dividers – will be replaced, as will the wall panelling and drop ceilings. The cubicles are to also to be “slightly remodelled”.

In the planning application seeking approval for the £250,000 project – which includes preparation costs – Avanti West Coast said it wanted to “modernise the existing toilets in order to enhance the customer experience and to make energy [and] water savings by installing new lower energy LED light fittings and lower water usage sanitaryware appliances”.

A report by Preston City Council planning offices said the proposal “would not adversely impact the significance of the listed station” – because the toilets do not contain any original or historic building fabric, fixtures or fittings that would have to be removed. The outside of the toilet block and the wooden entrance doors are also to remain unaltered.

Avanti West Coast claimed the toilets were already “relatively modernised” – but they have not found favour with some disgruntled passengers who have taken to travel review website Trip Advisor in the past six months to express their dismay.

In August, one traveller passing through Preston branded the facilities ”a smelly disgrace” and warned: “If you don’t want to breathe a lung full of airborne pee then maybe give this one a miss.”

A month earlier, another complained that the toilets were “disgusting, [with] sanitary bins overflowing and [the] floor wet”.

Overall, however, Preston station has a 3.5 out of 5 average rating on Trip Advisor.

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