AN accessible toilet will soon be available to people who attend the civic centre.
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Bathurst Regional Council commenced construction on the project just before Christmas and work is now around 70 per cent complete.
Mayor Graeme Hanger said it was part of council’s aim to make the city more inclusive.
“Council is working towards creating an accessible and inclusive city for everyone, one which provides equal opportunity for people with disability to utilise and enjoy the public spaces and life of our region,” he said.
“The new amenities at the civic centre will ensure access for everyone that visits.”
While council has started the project, the idea to add an accessible toilet at the civic centre originally came from the Bathurst Regional Access Committee (BRAC).
Cr Hanger said the committee's involvement was “quite significant early on”.
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BRAC interim chairman Bob Triming said that an accessible toilet had been on the committee's wish list since 2012.
A Central West Regional Access Committee meeting was being held at the council chambers, but visiting delegates did not have accessible bathroom to use.
The issue was raised with council at the time, but it was when the director of Cultural and Community Services, Alan Cattermole, started in his role in 2014 that the committee finally received “100 per cent support”.
Mr Triming said councillor Ian North was also a strong advocate, and without the two of them the toilet may never have been implemented.
He said people may question why the toilet is being installed on the first floor of the civic centre and not upstairs, but explained that the decision was made due to space.
“The best thing is the lift is a reasonably fast lift and the lift is very close to the toilets,” Mr Triming said.
When he informed other BRAC members that the toilet would finally be installed, the response he got was overwhelmingly positive.
They all look forward to the project being completed.
