A PUBLIC toilet block in Minehead was closed on Monday (March 31) after a water supply pipe sprang a leak.

The leak under the car park of the Quay West toilets, near Minehead Harbour, was spotted by Wessex Water, which served a notice on the town council to carry out immediate professional repairs.

Town clerk Ben Parker said the toilets were scheduled to reopen on Thursday (April 3) after completion of the repairs, which were estimated to cost nearly £3,000.

Mr Parker said contractors asked to quote for leak detection works had instead advised a complete re-piping solution should be considered because of the age of the pipe and difficulty in locating leaks precisely.

He said: “All quoting contractors have confirmed their ability to commence and complete the works within the timeframe required.

“Prompt action will help mitigate the risk of more extensive and costly repairs that could arise from continued water leakage into the car park’s ground infrastructure.”

Mr Parker said the council did not have an allocated budget for the unexpected repair and it would need to be financed using a general maintenance budget in the authority’s public toilets cost centre.

He said there could also be extra costs which were currently unknown, such as any compensation to Somerset Council if the excavation work caused any disruption to use of the car park.

Mr Parker said: “The town council apologises for any inconvenience and appreciates the community’s understanding of these necessary maintenance works.”

He said the Quay West repairs were completely unrelated to a £60,000 refurbishment project which the council completed in the summer of 2023.

The refurbishment included renewing all the wall, floor, and ceiling coverings, enlarging the cubicles, and installing new vanity units, taps, baby changing units, and washroom accessories.