At the time of writing – 26th May 2020 – we are coming to terms with the terrible news of two deaths in Cornwall’s waters and one rescue at Porthtowan that has resulted in a critically injured person. The Parish Council are in discussion with local volunteers at the Surf Life Saving Club, who flagged up the dangers. At the time of writing we have heard that the RNLI will be patrolling a limited number of beaches for limited times. We understand the current position is that Porthtowan will be patrolled from 20th June. The Parish Council have helped compile evidence of the need for greater safety provision and/or greater travel restrictions and have worked in partnership with Perranzabuloe Parish Council, Cornwall Cllr Pete Mitchell, and local and national organisations. The relevant facilities provided by the Parish Council – namely public toilets – are closed at the time of writing. The Council keeps the situation under constant review, and takes into account a range of considerations – such as public safety, staff safety, visitor encouragement, practise elsewhere, government advice and so on. Currently, the Council deem the opening of toilets prior to the patrolling of Porthtowan beach to be inadvisable as it does not wish to encourage lengthy visits or condone people entering the water when it is not safe to do so. The situation will change over time – please keep checking the Parish Council website for the latest information.
Statement on beaches, safety and public toilets
This is ridiculous. Closing the toilets is not acting as a deterrent, the visitor numbers are still huge and people are just using the sea, Beach, dunes and cliff paths as their toilet. At least open the disabled toilet? This is causing a big environmental Heath issue and it’s the local residents that are having big to deal with it.
Thanks for the comment. We completely understand the issues you raise and they feature highly on our long list of considerations. We want the toilets operational as soon as feasible and currently we’re working hard to bring forward the RNLI patrol date for Porthtowan – which would give a greater argument for opening the toilets sooner as well. We appreciate that there are differing opinions on this as it is far from clear-cut. The position of the Council at the moment is as outlined in the statement and we recognise that this is open to public scrutiny and the varying opinions there will be from members of the community.
The RNLI lifeguards have restarted, so can we now have the public toilets open in porthtowan please.
If they can be open elsewhere I see no excuse that they remain shut.
Shaun Richards
Porthtowan SLSC
Club Captain
Thanks Shaun. Yes, we have made the decision to re-open on a limited basis and we are awaiting delivery of the extra PPE and equipment we need. We will have notices up at the site in due course.
Please when will st Agnes beach toilets be open and perranporth thanks
Hi Janet,
Thanks for getting in touch. The beach toilets at Trevaunance Cove, St Agnes are back open again on a limited basis (accessible toilet only at this time). Perranzabuloe Parish Council will be able to tell you exactly which toilets are open in Perranporth.
Kind regards.
Will there be any toilets open at Wheal Coates or Chapel Porth for walkers (not bathers) in August?
Hi Sean,
The Parish Council is only responsible for three public toilet blocks – Porthtowan, Churchtown (St Agnes) and Trevaunance Cove (St Agnes). I am not aware of any others (or plans for others) in the area but Cornwall Council or the National Trust could perhaps confirm this for you.
Kind regards.