The future of the public toilets at Poldhu Beach looks uncertain following the parish council’s announcement it is to terminate its lease after the summer due to damage that cannot be repaired.

The parish will continue to keep the toilets open and maintained until the end of November, when the facilities will be handed back to Cornwall Council, which put them under “very real threat of closure” five years ago.

In a statement from the parish council this week, members said they had “no option” but to terminate the lease they took over in 2013, due to the soakaway failing and a new one being impossible to install due to the high water table there.

Investigations into the septic tank also showed that a sewage treatment plant would not work, due to the close proximity of the beach to the toilets.

Therefore, the tank will have to continue to be emptied when required - at a cost of £180 each time, up to three times a week - due to its inability to process the waste properly. Cornwall Council were “not willing to offer their assistance to the problem,” according to the parish council – despite benefitting from the beach car park fees.

Parish councillors said in the statement: “Mullion Parish Council took over the running of the three sets of public conveniences in Mullion from Cornwall Council in April 2013, due to the very real threat of closure. “The parish council has funded the running and maintenance of the toilets entirely from public money at a cost of £14,000 a year.

“The facility at Poldhu Beach has a number of issues, mostly due to its location on a sandy beach.

“It was the opinion of the specialist tank and drain company that the toilets should never have been built in this location.”

Cornwall Council remains the owner of the toilet block currently leased to the parish.

“Therefore, the parish council are left with no option but to terminate the lease on the toilets at Poldhu. They will be handed back to Cornwall Council on November 30, 2018. “Until that time, the parish council will continue to open and maintain the service that they have provided since 2013,” concluded the statement.

The Packet has contacted Cornwall Council for a response.