Shiny new Kuripuni loo

There hasn't been any hitches reported and it has been put to the test.Grant Hathaway, Masterton District Council

Relief at last ... as the Kuripuni toilets have finally been replaced.

The toilets have been a point of controversy since they were demolished in 2007 when the Kuripuni shopping precinct was redeveloped.

Masterton District Council chief executive officer Wes ten Hove approved the demolition without formal council approval. He was later called on to apologise and did so.

Kuripuni has been stuck with a temporary toilet ever since, until the council agreed last year to replace the toilet unit as well as the one in Queen Elizabeth Park, as previously reported by the Times-Age.

The cost of the new Exeloo facilities was $176,000, which includes site works and installation by contractors Bruce Buchanan.

The toilets are semi-automatic and have features such as a touch-free sensor to activate tap water and to flush the toilet.

Parks and recreation services manager Grant Hathaway said the Kuripuni toilets opened at the beginning of the week.

"There hasn't been any hitches reported and it has been put to the test. We're very pleased with the finished product," he said.

The council has not had any feedback from the public about the toilet so far.

Mr Hathaway expected the Queen Elizabeth Park toilet and the pissoir to be open at the end of this month or early in October.

The Kuripuni unit will be open during daylight hours and the park toilets are to be 24 hours.