€300,000 price tag for a loo with a sea view

FOR €300,000 you can spend all the pennies you like as a loo with a view comes up for sale in Lahinch, Co Clare.

If you think €300,000 for a vacant block of toilets is money down the S-bend, think again.

WC-on-sea has unblocked, free flowing views of Lahinch Bay.

The proceeds of the sale would be flushed back into a local authority plan to upgrade facilities for surfers and other beach-users.

The council-owned now defunct toilet block is located on Lahinch’s promenade, situated only metres from the beach and is zoned for development.

A relieved Cllr Martin Conway (FG) expressed his support for the proposed sale yesterday.

He said: “The toilet block has not been used for over five years and we are told the site may realise up to €300,000 if put on the open market.

“I always caution against the council selling its assets, but the scenario put to councillors is the sale of the toilet block is necessary in order to finance the upgrading of the beach facilities. The toilet block is on a superb site with unrivalled views of Lahinch Bay.”

Nicola Leyden of Leyden Auctioneers said yesterday: “Coastal property in Clare is very sought after at present, especially in Lahinch and depending on what the council would allow to be built in place of the toilet block, the price tag of €300,000 could be well exceeded.”

Lahinch is becoming increasingly popular with surfers and the council’s planned €1 million upgrade of the beach area include modernised toilet facilities, a playground, indoor and outdoor showers at the northern end of the beach and an upgraded slipway, lighting and a new lifeguard station.

Plans are expected to be lodged for the facilities at the end of next month with the works expected to be in place for next summer.

The council is in the process of seeking to register the property where the toilet block is located and only after that can it be put up for sale, with councillors having the final say on the disposal of the site.

The unused toilet block is on a site that the council has maintained for decades.

Along with the proposed sale of the toilet block, the council’s upgrading scheme for Lahinch will also come from its developer contribution scheme and increased parking charges at the beach resort. The developer contribution scheme could fund up to €600,000 of the €1 million works.

Senior Council official, Josephine Cotter-Coughlan said: “We are all looking forward to the works being implemented in order to have better facilities for tourists.”

Council officials have met with various interest groups from the Lahinch area in recent days to discuss the plans and as a result of the meetings, changes are to be made to the council plan.

Tom Buckley, of the West Coast Surf Club, welcomed the proposals.

He said yesterday: “The proposals are a step in the right direction. We have been waiting years for facilities like these and it is good that the council is finally getting around to it.”