Following the opening of the East Street car park toilets, we caught up with Caroline Parkins, the lady responsible for bringing them back to the town.

Bridport Nub News announced the reopening of the public conveniences last week.

After they closed in 2012, Caroline, of Leakers Bakery, went along to bid on them at auction, spending more than just a penny - more than £100,000 in fact.

"We should have loos," she said.

"They were put out to auction with very short notice by West Dorset District Council. They closed them and they went in with sledgehammers and vandalised them so they couldn't possibly be used again and it was very soon after having announced they were closing them, they put them up for auction.

"I went along to the auction and bought them.

"People were up in arms [when the toilets closed] but the trouble is people get up in arms but what can you do? You need to have a lot of idiocy to go to auction.

"To give West Dorset [District Council] their due, they gave planning permission with no trouble."

After planning permission was granted in July 2015, Caroline enlisted the help of local architect Robert Wheelwright, but work didn't start until 2017 after delays with builders, but I W Roper Ltd then carried out the works.

Caroline added: "Martin and his partner Ian built really, really good houses and they fit.

"They were bombed, that's why there was that space. A bomb fell during the war, that's why there was a hole in the buildings along there, which is nicely filled up.

"We managed to get those houses replaced and keep the toilets."

The houses were completed in 2018, but there were even more delays to the toilet block being completed when unitary authority Dorset Council came in in 2018.

"Bridport Town Council had huge negotiations going on because it wanted to take over the cleaning and the toilets," said Caroline. "It finally got agreed and then it [West Dorset District Council] became a unitary authority.

"When the new authority came it, they said, 'no, we've got to look at this again'. So, all that effort, all that work and all that time was completely wasted.

"The loos would have been opened at the end of that [initial discussions] because Bridport Town Council had said they would take the line and run with that, because the last thing I wanted to do was to be running lavatories."

The coronavirus pandemic than caused its own problems and delays but the toilets are now open.

Caroline added: "I'm really pleased that they are open and I'm sure they are needed, they are not going to be unused.

"Thank you to everyone who supported me. We are so lucky to have such a great town council and they have been so supportive - Daryl Chambers, Will Austin and Bob Gillis. Thank you to Martin and Ian and my staff in the shop who put up with endless keys being dropped off and collected and buns going over to the builders."

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