Hampden's planned $145,000 stand-alone public toilet block has the final nod from the Waitaki District Council, but not before councillors again questioned whether its planned austere design was a lost opportunity for the council.
Cr Jim Hopkins, of Oamaru, at the council's meeting this week, was the lone vote against the plan for the public toilets on the southeast corner of the Hampden Community Hall site. The toilets - $45,000 dearer than the original budget -
will be a pre-finished toilet in a style Cr Hopkins has previously described as similar to a World War 2 guard post.
But Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher said the council had spent enough time planning the toilets The request for new toilets came from the the Waihemo Community Board and the Hampden Hall committee about two years ago.
''It's just dragged on and on since then and become a huge drama,'' Mr Kircher said. The opportunity was there for ''local artists to dress it up''.
Cr Hugh Perkins hoped someone would ''tackle the blank canvas'' before it was done by ''passersby with spray cans''.
