THE PUBLIC toilets in St Helens Town Centre are up for auction for just £5,000 guide price.

No you didn't read that wrong, the former public toilets on Brook Street, have been put up for auction by the council.

The 566 sq ft red-brick building will feature with more than 100 lots for sale at Pugh’s next North West property auction, at the AJ Bell Stadium in Manchester on December 3.

Located opposite St Helens College, with access to the pedestrianised shopping area on Ormskirk Street, the former toilets may be suitable for redevelopment according to the auctioneers.

In other areas, former public toilets have been turned into all kinds of venues, such as restaurants and bars as seen in Southport.

A St Helens Council spokesperson said: “The council took the decision to close Brook Street public toilets as a way of making savings from the environmental service budget.

“This asset is now listed for sale by auction which is a method many other councils are using as it is usually a quick, fair and equitable process and is an approved form of disposal under the council's land and property disposal procedure rules.

“Any money generated through the sale of this property will be treated as a capital receipt, meaning it can be used to finance capital expenditure, invested, or to repay outstanding debt on assets originally financed through borrowing.”

Pugh auction house managing director Paul Thompson added: “The small property is in a good location in a busy area of St Helens town centre.

"Planning consent would of course need to be obtained by any prospective buyer but the toilets could represent a redevelopment opportunity that would mean the building would once again be an asset to the town, and we have had a number of enquiries already.”

For more information on the former public toilets, and to view the full auction catalogue, go to pugh-auctions.com.