Recent surveys have highlighted the decline in public washroom availability in the UK, especially in England. But there may be signs that the situation is starting to improve, at least in some locations.
The challenge of providing and maintaining public washrooms has never been easy, not least when some facilities are regularly targeted by vandals, which can render them unusable and take up a large slice of scarce budgets to repair them.
However, the situation has become harder still in recent years as council budgets have been squeezed, meaning that many facilities have fallen victim to cuts.
Such decisions are never easy ones to make, but reducing the number of toilet cubicles available to the public has significant consequences.
These were highlighted earlier this year in a survey published by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH). This revealed:
- There are 15,481 people for every public lavatory in England
- This was 14 per cent down on 2016
- Other parts of the UK fare much better, with a ratio of 8,500 per toilet in Scotland and 6,748 per person in Wales.
What is The Impact Of Having Town Centres Without Public Toilets?
It was the latest survey to highlight a growing problem across the country, amid concerns that certain areas, including many town centres, were becoming ‘deserts’ with few public toilets.
However, this situation has had the potential to create a certain tipping point. Councils may save money by cutting back on public washrooms, but if fewer cubicles and urinals mean the public stays away from town centres, the local economy suffers.
Therefore, there are some very good reasons for councils to improve provisions as a form of investment in local infrastructure.
It may be that Cambridgeshire is one place in which some positive developments are emerging.
Are Public Toilets Making A Comeback?
As the BBC reported, a deal between the Labour and Liberal Democrat groups on Cambridge City Council has led to the immediate reopening of toilets in a city centre park.
These facilities, on Parker’s Piece, will begin a phased reopening, providing much-needed washrooms for visitors, residents and those working and studying in the heart of Cambridge.
The decision emerged after the Liberal Democrat group claimed usage had been badly impacted by coin-only entry and that they had been used heavily before the COVID-19 pandemic. The new facilities will use contactless entry.
Council leaders have also agreed to open further city centre facilities at Quayside, between Bridge Street and Jesus Green.
Nobody would ever suggest a city centre like Cambridge could become a ghost town, given its almost unique academic status and thriving research-based economy, but, up the road in Peterborough, the situation is different.
Peterborough’s economy is not doing half so well and the city council is in deep debt, at £486 million as of March this year, which is admittedly down from £527 million a year before.
This kind of financial crisis is the sort of situation that would make cutbacks on washroom facilities sorely tempting.
However, the council has promised to provide ‘accessible’ washrooms as part of a £1.5 million revamp of the city’s retail district by next March, the Peterborough Telegraph reports.
Will Wycombe Councillors Bow To Pressure Over Closed Public Toilets?
It is possible, therefore, that local authorities are starting to have a collective rethink over washroom provision and its importance to local economies, with public pressure also being brought to bear. Finances may still be tight, but washrooms are rising up the priority list.
Among examples of rising public pressure is the case of High Wycombe. As the Bucks Free Press recently reported, campaigners have been pushing hard for the washrooms on Paul’s Row in the Town Centre to be reopened.
They were closed in October 2020, not because of COVID, but due to persistent vandalism and frequent drug use on the premises.
While this may be a familiar tale, both councillors and members of the public have become increasingly unhappy with the lack of facilities in the town centre that has resulted, noting that older people and those with disabilities have been particularly badly affected.
A report last year said reopening the Paul’s Row facilities would cost £61,000 a year, a figure the council baulked at. However, as pressure grows, they may be pressed to reconsider.
When the RSPH survey was published, it noted that overall council funding has fallen by 26 per cent since 2010. Money is undoubtedly a problem and some local authorities have remained resistant to spending it on washrooms.
However, it may be that reluctant councils like Wycombe find that examples such as those in Cambridge and Peterborough crank up the pressure, eventually leading to a shift in priorities to ease the problem of public toilet deserts.
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