News

Improving visitor facilities at Morston Quay

Published:: 29 May 2025
Last updated:: 09 March 2026

A computer generated image of the planned new black timber clad toilet block showing part of the car park in the foreground and the Lookout Building and masts of boats in the distance. — Image of the planned new toilet building which will have a Changing Places facility | © Eggbox Studios Ltd

We are pleased to share with the local community, stakeholders and visitors, our revised proposals for accessible toilets and other accessibility improvements at Morston Quay.

We withdrew our original planning application in May 2025 to take on board the comments we received and have drawn up new proposals to reflect these.

Accessible toilets with a Changing Places facility

Our proposal includes a new toilet block to replace the current temporary portacabins. This would contain male and female toilets, disabled toilets, Changing Places facility, a toilet for staff and volunteers, baby changing provision, and a shower. The facilities would also be made more resilient through improvements to the sewerage network on site.

What is a Changing Places facility?

Changing Places provide the space and equipment to enable those with complex needs to use the toilet safely, in comfort and with dignity. This Changing Places facility would be fitted with a disabled toilet, an adult changing bench, a hoist, with sufficient space for a wheelchair and up to 2 carers.

These new facilities would increase our capacity to meet the demand for toilets at peak visiting times, whilst providing facilities that are fully accessible to visitors with access and health requirements.

Changes following feedback on our earlier plans:

We have reduced the size of the building by removing the welcome area and office space.

We have changed the design to incorporate black timber cladding to reflect the existing Lookout building.
We have included a shower within the design as a useful addition for those who use Morston Quay for boating, kayaking and paddle boarding.

Temporary buildings currently on site at Morston Quay. — The temporary toilet building which we hope to replace with a permanent building providing better and more accessible toilet facilities for visitors | © Richard Steer

Car park improvements

Improvements we would like to make to the car park include providing dedicated accessible parking spaces, improving the drainage, and introducing coastal appropriate planting to break up and delineate the car park.

Every effort has been made to retain as much of the current layout, materials, look and feel of the existing car park as possible.

Changes following feedback on our earlier plans:

Softer edging to the car park rows, using coastal appropriate planting rather than just wooden barriers.

There was a concern that our original plans included significant changes to the car park. While we still propose modifying the layout of the car park, so that we can incorporate accessible parking spaces, we would like to clarify that we do not plan to change the car park surface or mark out individual bays (except for accessible parking spaces, using subtle markings to delineate these spaces).

Aerial view showing the size and position of the new toilet building in relation to the rest of the Morston Quay site | © Eggbox Studios Ltd

Landscaping and accessible footpaths

Modest re-landscaping of the site is proposed, primarily to allow for an accessible wheelchair-friendly path to connect the accessible car parking spaces with visitor facilities (i.e. new toilets, Lookout Building and kiosk).

As the route of the accessible path crosses the sea wall, a detailed Flood Risk Assessment has been carried out and is included with our planning application.

Changes following feedback on our earlier plans:

In drawing up accessibility improvements, we have planned these changes to have minimal visual impact on the site as a whole.

Frequently Asked Questions

The existing temporary facilities are not adequate to meet the demand when the site is at its busiest. This can lead to dissatisfaction amongst some visitors and detract from their overall experience of visiting Morston Quay, particularly among visitors who come for the seal boat trips as this is typically when the site is at its busiest. Moreover, planning permission for the portacabins that house the current toilets was for a temporary period and we now need to provide a permanent solution for the provision of toilets on this site. This affords us an opportunity to create better and more accessible toilet facilities for all visitors, and to incorporate suitable facilities for people with accessibility and health needs.
The building remains sited adjacent to the large green hedge on the eastern boundary of the site which will provide screening and minimise the visual impact from the east. We have also reduced the length and footprint of the building considerably but have retained the green roof originally proposed. We also now propose to match the exterior cladding of the existing Lookout Building. The amendments to the car park will ensure that it retains the look and feel of the existing car park as far as possible. We will not be marking out standard car parking spaces on the reworked existing coarse aggregate surface and will ensure the materials currently present are used as much as practicable.

Got a question?

We welcome questions on any aspect of our proposals. If you would like to ask us a question not covered in the FAQs above, then please get in touch with us at norfolkcoast@nationaltrust.org.uk.