Kingborough Council will open the public toilets in the middle of Kingston Beach an hour earlier each day after complaints that people were defecating on the sand overnight.
The toilets, normally locked from 9:30pm to 5:30am, will now open at 4:30am.
The council will also add signage directing people to nearby toilets that stay open all night.
Staff confirmed the change at the council’s June 1 meeting in response to a question from councillor Kaspar Deane.
Staff said the council had made the arrangements “given recent concerns” and was investigating a longer-term “tech solution” for after-hours access.
The change follows a campaign for overnight access first reported by Pulse.
Council candidate Will Perry raised the issue after a resident who walks the beach each morning said he had seen dozens of people relieving themselves on the sand because the toilet blocks were locked.
Perry, who is running for councillor and deputy mayor, told Pulse the resident felt brushed off by the council.
“He had approached a couple of existing councillors with the issue and was ignored and sort of laughed off,” he said.
Perry proposed leaving one cubicle unlocked overnight.
Councillor Aldo Antolli previously told Pulse he supported greater access but pointed to the cost of repairing vandalised toilets.
“Ideally, I would love the toilets to be accessible 24/7 so that if anyone is walking the beach, jogging that night and they need to go for a tinkle, it’s there,” Antolli said.
The toilets at Christopher Johnson Memorial Park, over Browns River next to the dog beach, remain open 24 hours.
