The Mayor of Felixstowe has vowed not to be prevented from doing ‘good things’ for the community after vandals caused damage to the town's new seafront toilets.
Mayor Seamus Bennett said he was looking at possibly getting CCTV for the Seashore Village toilets and is in talks with East Suffolk Council.
The facilities were opened just three weeks ago but yesterday the district council posted on X that they had been “seriously damaged” by vandals in two separate attacks.
Soap dispensers and toilet roll holders were pulled from the walls and the facilities are expected to remain closed for the rest of the week.
Cllr Bennett said: “It’s terrible, extremely disappointing. It’s wasting public money from ordinary people. Things like this hold us all back.
“Various measures are being considered. I was talking about it with the district council, this is district council property. They are considering what measures can be taken.
“The cost is being assessed this week. Both the town and district council are considering how we can monitor the area better with lighting and possibly CCTV. The police have been informed too.
“But we are not going to be put off from doing good things for the town. We are not going to be put off by a tiny number of people. We need to think more broadly about facilities for younger people, it’s likely its younger people, so they have things to do other than things like this.”
The Seashore Village is a new £1m development, with 27 beach huts and a landscaped green space.
Cllr Jan Candy, East Suffolk’s cabinet member with responsibility for community safety said: “It is incredibly frustrating that this brand-new community resource, which was only officially completed a few weeks ago, has already been damaged. The damage will be expensive to repair and has resulted in the toilets being unavailable for at least a week, which is disappointing for residents and visitors.
“This mindless destruction is unfortunately just the latest in a spate of anti-social behaviour which the Community Safety Partnership is working to address, with Suffolk police and Felixstowe Town Council. Felixstowe is a wonderful place to live, and I know the vast majority of residents appreciate and enjoy all that the town has to offer. It is disappointing that a selfish few are behaving in this way and causing problems for others.”
The local authority said it has reported the vandalism to the police and asked anyone with information about "this mindless attack" to call 101.
Residents and businesses with CCTV in the immediate area are asked to review any footage from the past week.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here