Is it a bird?
Is it a plane?
Taking the piss: the Bog in the Box is not very popular with local residents
Is it a Tardis?
No! It’s the Bog in the Box!
This chronic eye-sore appeared last weekend, as if by magic, plonked right in the middle of a residential area, on Court Wood Lane, just a few feet from the Selsdon nature reserve.
The port-a-loo is there for bus drivers on the 353 route who need to answer a call of nature, even though they are barely a five-minute drive from proper facilities at the Addington interchange.
On Monday, the Bog in the Box got the tasteful plywood casing and was painted green “to blend in”, according to a workman.
Residents along Court Wood Lane are less than happy, and claim it was placed there without any notice or planning permission. The “facility” is not plumbed in, and is just a chemical toilet. “So that means a waste lorry will need to visit every so often and pump it out,” said Inside Croydon‘s loyal reader. “Won’t that be nice for the residents?”
Early enquiries to Croydon Council indicated that the Bog in the Box was Transport for London’s bright idea. When residents contacted TfL, they were told to contact… Croydon Council.
“Not only does it look horrendous, but it is also obstructing the view of the road for residents exiting the car park,” said our reader.
“Anyone walking along the pavement may also get a smack in the face as the door now opens out, taking up much of the pavement space, not what you would be expecting when walking your dog or taking children to school.
“None of the residents were even told or consulted about this. It just appeared.”
Inside Croydon has contacted three local councillors to see if they can solve the mystery of the Bog in the Box. Let’s hope that the wait for an answer isn’t as long as the gap between 353 buses.
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I fear that this may well hit the national press and reinforce the nations view of Croydon.
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I really feel that there is nothing wrong with having a street-side loo for the bus drivers. They need a clean, available WC facility – as do we all.
However, surely it needs to look nicer! It could have a green roof, and green walls, that is “living green”, not painted.
It is impossible to avoid the temptations of the “let’s get to the bottom of this” type comments, but I would suggest that it could be clad in blocks to give bees and insects a home, and have a small planted roof.
Perhaps it could be a modern, eco-composting toilet?