Council puts derelict toilet block up for sale

10 November 2025

Pamela BilalovaNorth East and Cumbria

News image — Offers for the site are being accepted until 19 January

Durham County Council The old toilet block is a one story brown-brick building with a triangle roof and green door and window panes. There is a pile of yellow tree leaves on the roof. NO UNAUTHORISED ACCESS is written in red on a sign attached to the building. A grey metal fence is surrounding the block. — Offers for the site are being accepted until 19 January

An old toilet block has been put on the market in the hope the site will be redeveloped.

Graham Wood, Durham County Council's economic development manager, said he was "optimistic" that interest in the building at Elvet Waterside, near Durham city centre, would be high.

Local residents said they hoped the facility would be transformed into a cafe with a public toilet and play area.

The building, believed to date to the late 1950s, has not been used for almost 20 years.

Local resident Janet George said: "If in order to get toilets that are available every day, we have to have a cafe then that is okay."

The county council is accepting bids for the site until 19 January.

Durham County Council The old toilet block is a one story brown-brick building with a triangular roof, green door and window panes. There is a pile of yellow leaves on the roof. NO UNAUTHORISED ACCESS is written in red on a sign attached to the fenced-off building. There is a promenade next to it with the arched Baths Bridge visible in the distance. There are many trees across the river, with their leaves falling off. — The building has not been used for years and is fenced off

Linda Lovell, secretary of Elvet Residents' Association said: "The riverbanks at Elvet Waterside are popular with walkers, people who work in town and take their lunch down on good weather days, and also those just enjoying a stroll at the weekend.

"Coffee, ice cream and something to eat would be very welcome."

Mr Wood said he hoped a prospective buyer would develop the building to "complement" the Elvet waterside area.

"The building occupies a prominent position on the riverside path and, having received a lot of interest in the site so far, we are optimistic for its future," he added.

Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.