Meeting the demand for public washrooms is not easy for local authorities impacted by tight budgets and vandalism. But the cost need not be so high with affordable equipment, especially if it is designed to resist attempts to damage it.
The availability of public washrooms has been a major talking point this year, especially since the publication of a report on ‘public toilet deserts’ by the Royal Society for Public Health in April.
Its key findings – only one public loo for every 15,481 people in England and that this represents a 14 per cent drop over the past decade – will chime with the lived experience of many people.
The survey also found that councils have seen their funding power drop by 26 per cent since 2010, which means finding the funds to establish and maintain public washrooms is a difficult challenge.
However, it is a challenge that the public often wants its councils to meet. The question is, can they afford to?
What Costs Do Councils Face In Fixing Toilet Vandalism?
Some local authorities have faced huge ongoing costs to maintain their facilities:
- Figures published in 2024 indicated that councils had to shell out £60 million a year on repairing vandalism, much of it affecting public washrooms
- This figure only covers recorded incidents, meaning the true cost may be higher still
- Vandalism is a nationwide problem and not just in big cities. For example, Highland Council in Scotland spent £100,000 on repairs in the three years to 2025.
Meeting the challenge is harder when the quoted cost of equipment is high. For example, the Evening Standard recently reported that Islington Council spent £1 million on six automated public toilets and one accessible restroom.
Indeed, according to one councillor, after four years of trying, the lowest quote the council could find for one small self-cleaning unit was £192,000.
He added that part of the problem was down to the local authority “locking in” to lengthy procurement contracts that meant it could not find cheaper equipment elsewhere. He said savings of up to 25 per cent could have been made otherwise.
It may be that all-in-one solutions are not always the best approach, especially if you need individual components to maintain and repair facilities. You can certainly find that our products are a great deal less costly than the bills Islington has to shell out.
How Can Vandal-proof Items Save Costs And Keep Public Washrooms Open?
Further cost savings can also be made by investing in vandal-proof items, such as lockable toilet roll dispensers. From a public perspective, no facilities are worse than those where toilet roll is absent, so ensuring this crucial item is intact is very important.
This was highlighted by the unfortunate case of Market Drayton Town Council in Shropshire. In 2023, it was left with a difficult decision over whether to close down public facilities in the town after they were repeatedly targeted by vandals, the Shropshire Star reported.
The theft and destruction of toilet roll dispensers was one of the main ways in which the vandals had sought to wreck the facilities.
In a Facebook post about the incidents, a council spokesperson said: “Over the last few weeks, four toilet [roll] holders have been vandalised and there have been several incidents of unsuitable items being flushed down the toilets, causing severe blockages.”
The statement added: “Repairing these facilities, replacing toilet roll holders and for specialist contractors to unblock the drains as a result of this vandalism is an ongoing cost to the Council.”
By getting lockable, vandal-proof dispensers, at least one of these problems can be prevented in your facilities.
The cases in the Highlands and Shropshire demonstrate that it is not just in large urban areas that vandalism is an issue.
In the case of Islington, the decision to spend money on new washrooms came after pressure from local lobbying group Loos of Islington. Other inner London councils have also come under pressure.
Can Vandal-proof Equipment Combine With Novel Design To Produce Better Washrooms?
A different approach to the very expensive all-in-one lavatory packages that are eating into Islington’s budget could be to combine buying the components needed, along with developing toilets with individual, often innovative designs.
The latter has been created across London in the City of Westminster, with an experimental design using self-supporting stone, Architects Journal reported last month.
Located in Maida Vale, it was made using stone reclaimed from a now-demolished building. It offers three toilets, one of which is wheelchair accessible, replacing an underground facility.
With its novel stone exterior, it should certainly be robust, while the fact that it is situated at surface level should make it less of an easy target than the underground facilities it has replaced.
Even so, new facilities, however attractive they may be, still need vandal-resistant equipment. By investing in it, you may save significantly in the long run.
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