New toilet facilities have now opened in the Cathedral's North Transept.
The project, which has taken place over the past nine months, has seen a re-fit of the existing modern extension off the North Transept which was once home to an electricity substation. It includes a 'flower room' with sink and drainer for the Cathedral's Flower Arranging team, and has seen a comprehensive repair of the failing flat roof.
The nine cubicles (including one accessible) are unisex, and each includes a wash basin and hand-drier. These new facilities replace the old 'Treasury Toilets' off the South West Lawn.
The project has been made possible through support of the Chichester Cathedral Friends, the Restoration and Development Trust and the Governments Culture Recovery Fund for Major Works Programme.
Twinning our Toilets
We have perhaps become over-familiar with the phrase ‘God bless’. We say we’re ‘blessed’ to have good neighbours, a new car, a nice house. The #blessed tag on social media has been linked to ‘humble bragging’. But how often do we count more basic blessings like having a toilet and clean water on tap – everyday essentials that millions of people still don’t have?
2 billion people across the world still don’t have a proper toilet. In Ivory Coast, for example, more than three-quarters of the population lacks a loo.
Without proper toilets and clean water, people are trapped in a vicious cycle:
- They’re likely to become sick through sanitation-related diseases
- Illness means they cannot work or farm their land, so they earn less or grow less food
- Children often miss school, because they are sick or because they’re busy collecting water
- Girls often drop out of school altogether when they start their periods if there are no toilets or changing rooms
That's why we hope to 'twin' our sparkling, brand new Cathedral toilets, with a toilet block in the developing world. And that's where Tearfund (registered charity No. 265464) comes in. They 'twin' toilets in some of the poorest places on the planet - using our donations to build toilets, provide clean water, and teach communities about the importance of sanitation and hygiene.
The result: better health and a massive step away from generational poverty.
So, if you think you might ‘spend a penny’ in the wonderful new Cathedral toilets, please consider helping another community, less fortunate than ours, by supporting this fundraising drive. Thank you.
