Green light for accessible loos at Weymouth Sea Life
Plans include a disabled-friendly 'Changing Places' shower and toilet.
Outdated toilets and an external store at the Weymouth Sealife Centre are to be replaced.
Dorset Council has agreed a planning request from site operators, Merlin Entertainments to the demolish an existing toilet block and range of sheds – replacing them with a new WC building.
The new block, within the existing yard, will have visitor and staff facilities with separate male and female loos, a disabled Changings Places shower/ WC, baby change facilities and staff changing areas.
The new building will also include a ramped and stepped access, an improvement over the existing access which is stepped with the corridors a minimum of 1200mm wide with areas of 1500mm diameter turning circles to allow wheelchair use.
The planning application to Dorset Council said: “These improved facilities will be more inclusive and would help to cater for all visitors to the attraction, including those where typical disabled toilets/ facilities are not sufficient.
“The new building will be single storey and will be detached from the existing entrance building. Externally the building will be clad in horizontal grey Fortex shiplap boarding and will have a low-pitched profiled metal roof.”