The long-disused public toilets on Windrush Square are, once again, being offered for rent by Lambeth council.
The Blog first reported their marketing in 2016, and again in 2020. Now, four years to the day after our 2020 report, a sign has once again appeared over the underground toilets on the square.
Agents Sanderson Weatherall say they are “suitable for alternative use” including F&B (food and beverage) and leisure.
The agents say: “Suggested alternative uses include retail, café, restaurant, bar, gallery, shared workspace, etc. Proposed uses would be subject to planning and would need to be sympathetic to the surroundings. They should add vibrancy and complement the current business uses and events found in the immediate vicinity.”
The property, they say, consists of “decommissioned separate male and female subterranean public conveniences, each section with its own access. The property can be let together, separately or structural tenant works could be considered to join the spaces”.
The rent sought is £65,000 a year, plus 10% of the turnover (gross takings) of any business that uses them.
When last offered in 2020, the proposed rent was £50,000 a year.
Ros Griffiths, chair of the Friends of Windrush Square, said the square was named to honour the Windrush Generation and their descendants and that the toilets should be repurposed for community use, not private sector profit.
There had been no advance notice or consultation with the stakeholders of the square, she said.
I’m curious to see who Willy rent it and what they can do with it . The police need to clean the area first of the organised crime ?