A state-of-the-art eco toilet will be officially opened at Mile Road Allotments on 1 April and the VIP event will be among the first official duties of the incoming High Sheriff of Bedfordshire.
Russell Beard was inducted as High Sheriff on Friday 24 March and said he was hugely honoured to have been asked to perform the official opening at the allotments.
“I’ve never been invited to attend a loo opening before,” Mr Beard told the Bedford Independent.
“I did have to check it wasn’t an April Fool’s Joke, though.”
The grand opening is the culmination of a great deal of fundraising by The Mile Road Allotment & Leisure Gardeners Association (MRALGA) with support from local charities, organisations, businesses and Bedford Borough Council.
“The Mile Road Allotmenteers have worked very hard on the ‘we need a new loo’ project,” said Amanda Brookes, a volunteer at MRALGA.
“We started the initiative early last year in response to a request from the members to upgrade the current facility and make it accessible for everyone.
“The cost was a bit outside of our usual budget but the ‘Woo Woo Loo’ was the chosen type as it met all our needs.”
The unique award-winning design has become famous for its unique evaporation/drying mechanism which works with no need for water, electricity or chemicals.
It is ideal for its location on the allotments, as it can exist ‘off grid’, with no access to sewerage.
“We are grateful to Bedford Borough Council, the Harpur Trust, the Gale Family Trust and the Wixamtree charitable trust, Richardson Milling UK, SDC and of course all at the Allotment,” said Amanda.
“And we’re very grateful to The High Sheriff, who has kindly agreed to formally open the ‘loo’. In his words, he has never attended a loo opening before and this is a very fine one indeed.”
