A lack of action over the public toilets at Poldhu has been criticised as an "absolute disgrace" by a concerned member of the public and regular beach goer.

David Barlow, a retired merchant navy radio officer and co-founder of the Radio Officer’s Association, is a regular at Poldhu Beach where the toilets are only partially open to the public since the building was condemned in June 2018.

The toilets were handed back to the county authority on November 30, 2018. At the time Cornwall Council said it had started a joint project with the National Trust to find a long-term way of managing the car park and public toilets at the beach, which sees thousand of visitors every year.

They said they were working with Mullion Parish Council, as well as Poldhu Beach Cafe and Dan Joel Surf School, to make this possible. But since then nothing has been announced.

Mr Barlow says the fact there is currently no running hot and cold water in the toilets was a "health hazard".

"Six years and no change (except the toilets becoming unisex) is, in my opinion, an absolute disgrace by both parties concerned showing a total lack of concern for the wellbeing of the general public," said Mr Barlow. "I feel sure that the county council would be the first to involve the police if people were given free and encouraged access to a condemned building elsewhere.

"I have pointed out five years ago that the sand dunes are causing stress cracks to appear in the wall adjoining the road the wall is a hundred years old and if it collapses could block the road and bus route."

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Mullion Parish Council said it had no option but to terminate the lease it took on from Cornwall Council in 2013, due to the soakaway failing and a new one being impossible to install due to the high water table there. Investigations into the septic tank also showed that a sewage treatment plant would not work, due to the close proximity of the beach to the toilets.

Mullion Parish Council says it was told a deal would be done by Easter 2020 - that the National Trust would take over the lease of the car park and the lease of the toilets and eventually a new toilet block would be placed in the car park, they even saw the proposed plans but since then have heard nothing. They say they believed that the National Trust thought that to be the case as well.

The National Trust told the Packet an update on the situation would be issued when they had more details.

However a notice pinned to the toilets says: "We have been expecting to take on ownership and management of the Poldhu car park and toilets.

"However with unavoidable delays this has been postponed until much later on in the year (2022) Working with Cornwall Council who are currently running the carpark we are supporting the running of the toilets. Many thanks for your continued support and we hope you enjoy your visit today." 

Cornwall Council has been contacted for a comment.