With Lancaster City Council facing perhaps its worst financial crisis in years as it seeks savings of some £1.7 million, cut backs to services are under discussion this week that include the closure of over 10 public toilets.
Strangely, it is the Greens that have abandoned their usual opposition to the loss of public services – readers will recall their outright condemnation of local post offices – and are pushing for the closure of facilities in rural areas, Carnforth and Morecambe from the beginning of April. It is claimed the closure will save some £100,000 a year.
The toilets under threat are those on Regent Road and adjacent to The Dome in Morecambe; Heysham Village, Sunderland Point, Glasson Dock, Cockerham, Silverdale, Warton, Red Bank Shore, Carnforth, Bolton Le Sands, Hest Bank and the Victoria Institute, Caton (the latter cleaned by the Council).
Since the plan was suggested proposals to close the Bull Beck toilets on Caton Road, well-used by bikers and cyclists, have been withdrawn, because there are no obvious businesses nearby. That will be welcome news to Liberal Democrat group leader Coun Stuart Langhorn, also a Caton parish councillor, who described the closure facility as “madness” in a letter to Cabinet member Jon Barry.
The closed toilets will be replaced by a scheme similar to that adopted in Richmond, London by which local businesses, including cafés, pubs and hotels, will instead offer use of their toilet facilities in return for a £750 annual payment. £20,000 has been set aside for signage to publicise the scheme. The Richmond scheme has met with high praise from government.
Budget Crisis Forces Council’s Hand
The Council is having to make some difficult choices about its budget in order to achieve the agreed four per cent council tax rise. In addition to the toilet closure proposal, other service cuts, which come on top of the closure of Morecambe Dome and the cancellation of the Youth Games, include reduction in cemetery servicing, halving playground repair budget and turfing over even more Council flower beds, this time in Dalton Square, Morecambe Town Hall’s sunken gardens and the Harbour garden area of Morecambe Promenade to save nearly £12,000.
“We’re doing what Richmond has done,” explains Coun Barry. “To do it properly, you have to pay businesses. We’ve set aside money to do this.”
“To me, the principle at first appears attractive,” says Carnforth councillor Tony Johnson, “but surely the City Council needs to ensure the availability of replacement facilities before the step is taken to “mothball” existing toilets.
“Also, as independent businesses are not open all day, more than one establishment providing facilities may need to be put in place within walking distance of the toilets due to be closed. The project looks ill-considered.”
“I agree it is all rushed and should have been started earlier,” Barry acknowledges, adding that he supports the provision of public toilets. “But I’m afraid we’re having to rush things through in order to hit the budget.
“I hope this works,” he adds, “and I’ll be harassing officers to make sure that it does.”
If it does, then further cuts to public toilets may follow. “It may be that we could add a few elsewhere if this works well,” Barry told virtual-lancaster.
The decline of the Public Toilet
The first public toilet in Britain was opened over 150 years ago – and for a long time the provision of state-of-the-art municipal facilities was a matter of considerable civic pride. But in recent years the state of the nation’s toilets has instead been the focus of increasing public concern.
Over many years a significant number of public toilets have closed or been allowed to deteriorate, such that by 2005 a National Consumer Council survey recorded that two thirds of people thought that “public toilets in Britain are a national disgrace”.
In a government document published last year, setting out a strategy for improving such services (PDF link), pointing out they make for a safer, greener environment and improve public health, Baroness Andrews commented “A lack of accessible and good public toilets affects not only the quality of our town centres, parks or bus stations, it also reduces the dignity and quality of people’s lives.
“After all, they are one of the basic facilities that residents and visitors alike depend on.”
Incredibly, despite the commitment of Councils to maintaining public health in other areas such as food hygiene in local restaurants, they are under no legal obligation to provide public toilets – which is why such facilities have become a ‘soft target’ when it comes to budget cuts. In addition, limitations in the 1936 Public Health Act have limited councils’ ability to charge for the use of some facilities, which, as in other countries, would enable some costs to be recouped. The Government has been urged to amend the act to allow this, but this has yet to happen
Toilet closures are, however, very unpopular: in recent years, thousands of people have written letters, signed petitions, attended events, or participated in surveys – highlighting their concern about the availability and quality of public toilets where they live.
A staggering 62% of respondent recently told Help the Aged they felt housebound in Wales because of a lack of the ‘lifeline’ facilities.
The story was prompted by the news that in April Gwynedd County Council will close more than a fifth of the county’s 95 public toilets in a move which will save the council around £133,000 a year.
In the past, some Councils have also claimed the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) as an excuse to close public toilets – estimated at 40% over the last eight years.
Locally, facilities in Torrisholme and Lancaster have both been closed in the past on the basis that they were not fit for purpose, and not replaced. This time, the council say that the toilets earmarked for closure this time will remain standing for the time being to allow their long-term future to be reviewed, and to give parish councils the chance to acquire them if they wished.
The plan will be debated by the Council’s cabinet on Tuesday.
• Public Toliet Finder on Your Mobile: www.findatoilet.mobi
Offers mobile owners the means to locate their nearest public tolilet
• Campaign for Better Public Toilets: www.britloos.co.uk
This campaign is backed by many national businesses.
• Richmond’s Community Toilet Scheme: Overview
• ENCAMS have produced a toolkit about Richmond Council’s Community Toilet Scheme
• Government level views on toilet provision:
• www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/publicaccesstoilets
• www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmcomloc/636/636.pdf (PDF)