New toilets at Ryde Interchange cannot yet be opened and there is no date as to when they might.

It is because although Ryde Town Council has agreed to take them on, the terms of the lease has not yet been agreed with South West Trains.

Until the agreement is signed, the toilets cannot open.

To make matters worse, temporary toilets along Ryde Esplanade, provided by the Isle of Wight Council over Easter, have now been removed.

It had originally been hoped the new toilets would be open by Easter.

It has left Ryde seafront with very limited facilities for those needed to use a toilet.

A spokesperson for Ryde Town Council told the County Press: "Ryde Town Council is in the process of agreeing to take on the toilets at the interchange and our solicitors are currently working to agree the terms of the lease with South West Trains.

"Unfortunately, this is taking longer than we’d hoped as the standard lease is understandably set out to be more suitable for large town and city train stations with commercial tenants.

"The two teams of solicitors are now negotiating to have some of the more onerous conditions relaxed to better reflect the type of situation that exists at the Ryde Interchange so that the potential financial implications for Ryde Town Council are more acceptable.

"There is no specific date when the toilets will be open, but I can assure you once the terms of the lease are agreed we will work to get the toilets open as soon as possible."

The toilets are inside SWR's train station, which was refurbished as part of an Isle of Wight Council-led project but there had been disagreement over who should be responsible for them.

In December, SWR said it was up to the Isle of Wight Council, but County Hall said it never intended to manage them.

Ryde Town Council then agreed to pay to clean and insure the facilities for an estimated cost of £27,000 per year, plus VAT.

Ryde Mayor, Richard May, previously said it was in the public's interest that the town council pay to clean them and councillors agreed there was 'no other way forward'.