Protesters go 'loo'-py over Brixham toilet block demolition

Workers turning up to knock down a derelict Brixham toilet block found themselves at the centre of a noisy protest.
Police were called at one point as locals got inside the fences at the Furzeham toilets and chanted ‘Don’t Knock The Block!’ in a bid to save the crumbling building. They raised placards including one which read ‘Save Brixham’s Heritage’.
The police did not need to intervene, and workers carried on putting up scaffolding and preparing to knock down the toilets, which have asbestos in the roof.

The protesters wanted the work stopped so that the block could be taken on as a cafe and information centre for a local project to open up a footpath on the route of the old Brixham branch railway line.
Local councillor Andrew Strang (Con, Furzeham with Summercombe) said the authority had come up with a compromise, telling the protesters that when the toilet came down, a concrete base would be retained, allowing a ‘pop-up’ cafe to take its place in the future.
And the council explained that the building had been boarded up since at least 2006 and was structurally unsound. 
“The building has attracted vandalism, anti-social behaviour and rough sleeping,” the council said in a statement. “As the owners of the building we are able to undertake demolition works under permitted development rights, and our application submitted in March 2026 was duly approved.”
But, the statement went on: “We recognise that this site has attracted strong local opinions, and we remain committed to working with local partners to support the wider aspirations and long‑term prosperity of the area.”
Newly-elected Brixham town councillor Frances Robinson said the block would be perfect for a cafe, and had been offered out to tender by the council three years ago, at which point a local businessman had wanted to take it on.
Cllr Robinson said efforts to discuss the demolition with the council had failed. “This matters to a lot of people,” she said. “The vast majority of people who responded to our poll want the building retained.
“Hopefully they will call this off and do the sensible thing. so that we can actually all get round a table and sort out the future of this building. We want to retain it, save the council the cost of demolition, and put it back into public use.”
Protesters said they were angry at the council’s lack of consultation before going ahead with the demolition.
“We are just tired of it,” said Helen Allen. “They just ride rough-shod over the people of Brixham. Anywhere else, this would be seen as the perfect location for a little cafe. It’s what the local community wants.”
Brixham’s Liberal Democrat MP Caroline Voaden also hit out at the council, saying: “The planned demolition of the old toilet block shows how little the interests of Brixham factor into their decision-making.
“For months the Brixham Railway Heritage Trail group has been trying to turn the block into a heritage information centre and coffee shop. It is vital we do all we can to support community projects like this which will benefit residents and visitors alike.
“Unfortunately, this appears to be yet another decision taken by the Town Hall in Torquay without any meaningful consultation with local groups and residents in Brixham. It is a pattern we see all too often and it must stop.”
But Torbay Council’s deputy leader Chris Lewis (Con, Preston) said the old building was dangerous and not fit for purpose, and had to come down. Leaving it intact and handing it to the community, he said, would only have saddled local people with the same problems.
“It’s unsafe,” he said. “All the experts say the best thing to do is to demolish it. We’ll do the hard bit and get rid of the asbestos, then ask the community what they want on that site.
“Someone has got to make the hard decisions, and we will do that if they are right for the community and for Torbay. We will leave behind a plinth and see if somebody wants to put a mobile block on it.”