Toilets at Nottingham Railway Station were closed because of vandalism - but they have now reopened. Officials at East Midlands Railway said the disabled toilets in the main part of the building on Carrington Street had been closed while repairs were carried out.
The EMR team also confirmed they were taking steps to tackle the problem to ensure that it doesn't happen again. An East Midlands Railway spokesperson said: “The toilets in the southern concourse were closed due to vandalism but they have been repaired and are back in working order.
"The vandalism issue is being looked at to understand what steps can be taken to minimise it happening again.” It's not the first time vandalism has been reported. In August 2019, Gemma Peat, then 34 who had been living in Wilford Crescent, The Meadows, was jailed for causing the huge fire of January 2018 at the train station which started in the ladies' toilets. It caused £5.6m of damage to the station as the fire spread across the roof.
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Meanwhile, EMR are proposing to make toilets at the station and waiting rooms more accessible and step-free for customers using the facilities. But work is required on two of the toilet facilities and one waiting room entrance.
Planning documents suggest EMR officials hope to redecorate the facilities in the company's branded colours. Staff at EMR said they had applied to improve some of the women's facilities at the station including proposed work on two toilets on one platform.
The toilets would be decorated in the EMR colours of aubergine, white and oyster grey. This also includes identical plans for one of the waiting rooms on a platform. The windows of the waiting room, if plans are successful, would also be painted in heritage colours of green and white.
People in the city spoke in favour of the plans to make the toilets more accessible. Anna French, 19, a student from Southwell, said: "That’s fantastic - that will give people with disabilities easier access.”
“I don’t use the train station often but I still think it’s a good idea; it’s very kind," said Demitry Ayazov, a 21-year-old student from the Lace Market. Reece Shelton, 35 and from Stelley, added: “I think that’s great. It’s an adaptation that’s long overdue. It’s an improvement that should have been done in the 1900s."
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