The Dunedin Spiritualist Church in South Dunedin may have been saved from having a public toilet built metres from its front door, but shoppers in the area will have to wait for relief.
The saga of where to put a public toilet needed in South Dunedin was debated again yesterday at the Dunedin City Council planning and environment committee meeting.
The council has been unable to find consensus that would allow the building of a long-awaited Exeloo, an issue it has been considering for about three years.
Lorne St, off King Edward St, was identified as a preferred site for the toilet, but nearby banks had security concerns, and bank staff on lunch breaks used benches near to where the toilet would be located, so it was planned for further down the street, outside the church.
At a committee meeting six weeks ago, the matter was left to lie on the table.
Church representative Fred Haslam, at a public forum before yesterday's meeting, asked whether the council would put a toilet outside Knox Church, First Church or St Paul's Cathedral.
"Why desecrate our place of worship?"Cr Dave Cull asked why the council should take more notice of banks than it did the church.
He said the toilet should be outside the bank, rather than the church.
"I don't see why the representatives of mammon should be listened to any more than the representatives of God."
Cr John Bezett said the issue had "gone on for so long", there had been many submitters, and the banks were not the only ones who wanted the toilet near the church.
The church's argument garnered sympathy among councillors, and the committee voted to further review options for the toilet.
