A council has been criticised by a watchdog over its handling of new loos.

Residents kicked up a stink when they learned public toilets were going to be built opposite their homes on The Leas at Minster, Sheppey.

They formed the Leas Toilet Block Action Group and suggested other less conspicuous locations either nearer the beach or in the car park in front of the Little Oyster care home. But Swale council refused to change its preferred site.

Local Government Ombudsman Michael King said it was a "running theme" in the Cabinet and Scrutiny Committee meetings about a lack of public consultation and ruled the council was at fault - although he admitted the timber-clad toilets may still have ended up in the same place. They are now finished but steel barriers remain.

Action group spokesman Geoff Harris, who campaigned with Neil West and Heidi Martin, said: "After the council's refusal to consult residents we made an official complaint.

"We had been given no notice about the plans and only heard about them by chance from a councillor.

"We were especially concerned when it was reported Cllr Tim Valentine (then cabinet member for the environment) told Cabinet members he had canvassed residents and found no objections when we couldn't find anyone he had asked.

"As a group, we feel extremely angry that Swale council was able to totally disregard the feelings and views of residents in such a sensitive project as this. The leader Cllr Roger Truelove consistently disregarded the feelings of more than 500 people who signed a petition against building the toilets at this site."

Mr Harris added: "The council says it plans to develop a consultation policy in the near future but sadly this is too late for residents on The Leas. It should have implemented this much earlier to make the Ombudsman’s intervention unnecessary."

Council officers came up with five locations and then whittled them down to two. The final site was picked because it was the cheapest. Cllr Valentine said the toilets were being built under "permitted development rights" and did not need a public consultation.

In his report Michael King said Cllr Valentine told a scrutiny meeting he had spoken to residents "whilst at site and their views on the location were split."

But the Ombudsman added: "Unfortunately, I found no further evidence about this. The councillor did not go into detail about where the residents lived or whether they supported the project or where their preferred locations were.

"This is something that would have been useful to see in the councillor's report to the Cabinet.”

He added that while the council asked Minster Parish Council for its views it was "unfortunate" it did not report these to the Cabinet.

He said the council recognised the process could have been better and said: "I consider the council should have consulted residents despite its concerns about how difficult consultation may be or how useful the response may be. Residents had a right to know about the plans.

"It was a running theme in the Cabinet and Scrutiny Committee meetings that councillors raised concerns about lack of public consultation.”

At a scrutiny meeting on May 20 last year members complained the views of ward councillors were not being considered. At the following Cabinet meeting on June 3 one member said he saw "no reason" to change the location.

The leader confirmed he had received objections but said the seafront was "vital to the visitor economy and facilities were long overdue."

It was agreed the site was "challenging." The Ombudsman said: "The council told me it recognised the location of the new toilets was a controversial decision. It said it consulted the parish council and Cabinet members. It did not carry out public consultation because it did not consider this would have produced balanced views."

The contract was awarded on June 5 and work began on August 10.

Swale council said it "welcomed" the report which confirmed the toilets were in the right place.

A spokesman said: "The council understands that despite efforts to consult, the ombudsman found the consultation to be flawed. The council accepts this and is working on a more inclusive approach to involving residents in decisions.

"However, the ombudsman has confirmed that greater consultation would not have changed the decision."

She added: "The opening of the toilet will materially improve the quality of people’s visits to Minster and is part of a wider programme to make visiting sites in Swale more comfortable."

Martyn Cassell, head of commissioning, environment and leisure at the council, said: "We’ve received the local government ombudsman’s decision regarding the location of the new toilets on Minster Leas seafront and take on board the recommendation that formal public consultation was needed due to the sensitivity of the location.

"We did take residents’ suggestions into consideration throughout the process but these were unfortunately found to be unworkable due to technical issues. We had to work within the power, drainage, accessibility and physical restrictions of the area.

“We’ve seen an increase in visitors to our seafronts and green spaces in the past year, particularly due to covid, and we believe that the imminent opening of the toilets will provide a much-needed facility for the summer ahead to support tourism and local businesses.

“We take the ombudsman decision seriously. We pride ourselves on openness and having regard for the individuals and communities we serve and will work to improve the way we consult on this sort of decision in future.”

The toilets are set to open this week.

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