Council
21 September, 2025
Relief on the way for travellers at Sutton Forest
The existing male toilet at the rear of Sutton Forest Hall will be reopened as a unisex public toilet following representations from the local community.
The existing male toilet at the rear of Sutton Forest Hall will be reopened as a unisex public toilet following representations from the local community.
The lack of any public toilets in the village was the subject of lengthy discussion at Wingecarribee Shire Council’s September meeting.
Councillors heard people were urinating in public at all times of the day and night because Sutton Forest has no public toilet facilities.
The public toilets were demolished in the early 1990s and were never replaced. There is no provision for new toilets in Sutton Forest in council’s new Public Toilet Plan – prompting calls from the local business community for the problem to be addressed.
The toilets at the hall are for hall users and are not considered public. The male toilet at the rear of the hall has been closed for safety reasons, and one of the two internal toilets allocated for male use.
Cr Therese Duffy moved the staff recommendation that the Public Toilet Plan be adopted with the addition of new toilets at Sutton Forest Hall in the renewal program. She said toilets should be assigned a priority and considered for funding in the 2027/28 capital works budget.
Cr Sara Moylan said council could reopen the male toilets at the rear of the hall at ‘negligible cost’. She asked for council staff to reassess the maintenance works required and to report back to the October meeting.
She said the existing toilet could be reopened this year and council could then look at providing the funds in 2026/27 for the construction of new toilets.
She said public safety was a key factor and locking the toilets seemed to be “exacerbating the safety issue”.
She said the cost to council would be “minuscule” given the benefit to the community.
Council staff reported there were several ‘complexities’ around re-opening the male toilets. Turning them into a public facility represented a change of use and council would be unable to meet current requirements given the state of the hall.
Cr Rachel Russell said she was grateful that council was looking to meet a “fundamental need” and encouraged councillors to adopt a ‘can-do’ attitude.
She described Sutton Forest as a “charming little village” that for many people was the ‘gateway’ to the Southern Highlands.
“Impressions are important and our reputation as a shire is important,” she said.
Cr James Farrell asked if council could position a portable toilet at the hall for use as a female toilet but staff said it wasn’t something they would recommend.
Cr Heather Champion said she liked the idea of creative solutions but a ‘stop gap’ solution was not a suitable one.
She said the Sutton Forest community deserved a “clear sense of how we proceed” on the matter.
Cr Russell moved that the male toilets be re-opened and that council erects signage stating the unisex nature of the toilets and its condition. She said council should engage with the business community about on-going cleaning and maintenance.
Cr Russell said she was a big fan of the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) principle.
“Let’s not be stupid,” she said.
She said the current situation was unsatisfactory in one of our gateway towns and the solution could be as simple as taking the padlock off the door and letting people accept responsibility for their own decisions.
Cr David Kent argued that councillors were getting “way off track” (from the original recommendation to adopt the Public Toilet Plan) and said it wasn’t a problem that needed solving immediately.
Cr Farrell said he was willing to give it a go and suggested council could look at other options if it received too much criticism.
“It’s not the best solution but maybe it’s a solution,” he said.
Read More: Sutton Forest, Southern Highlands