How convenient are our public toilets?

August 2010

PUBLIC TOILET FACILITIES IN BRIGHTON & HOVE: OPC members Jim Buttimer and John Barry speak out

For some years now the OPC has offered advice and requests to the City Council for improvements to the provision of publicly accessible toilet facilities in the City. The OPC’s interest in the subject dates back to August 2007 when an older member of the public raised the question, not of cleanliness, but of the number available. Older people, for a number of reasons, are more likely to be “caught short” than those who are younger and fitter, nor are they able to walk far in search of facilities

The City Council’s response was, and still is, that the present provision is adequate indeed generous. They quoted a total of 76 against Plymouth’s 32 but in fact the 76 include 18 in libraries, museums and leisure centres and 12 in business premises under the Council’s You’re Welcome scheme in which businesses are encouraged to allow members of the public to use their toilets without making a purchase. In the meantime the OPC became aware of a “Community Toilet” scheme operated by the London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames, similar to the “You’re Welcome” scheme save that the Council pays £600 a year to businesses that participate. Not surprisingly this had proved far more successful with 70 participants against Brighton & Hove’s 12 (in 2007). The OPC asked the City Council to consider this scheme without success.

We are aware that progress has been made locally: several new toilets for disabled people have been opened, the number of businesses participating in the You’re Welcome scheme has arisen to (a very modest) 17, and there are now 20 accessible in libraries, museums and leisure centres. We also note that several times in the last few years the City Council has won the Loo of the Year Award
These achievements are welcome, but there is an inadequately uniform provision. The City of Brighton and Hove says that it attracts around 8 million visitors a year, and it celebrates and benefits from its thriving night-time economy. But it is not unusual to see letters in the local press from visitors deploring the lack of sufficient public toilets in the places that tourists visit: for those choosing the beach area to the east of the Brighton Pier there are just two facilities along the beach to the Marina. Another example: there are no public toilets on the main shopping road between Churchill Square and Hove Town Hall. Yes, Churchill Square provides toilets available for public use, as does Marks and Spencer in Western Road, but only during shopping hours. What about the pensioner needing a toilet at say 9pm, not an excessively late hour? It is this unevenness in provision, with either insufficient facilities or early evening closures, which makes older people think twice before venturing out sometimes, and which also contributes to social isolation

The response from the City Council (ie to the LINk’s questions on public toilets in the city made to the Environment and Community Safety Overview & Scrutiny Panel) acknowledges that Kemptown is not well served with public toilets. In 2008 the OPC corresponded with the Council about the closure of the accessible toilets at the junction of St James Street and Upper Rock Gardens. There followed talk about developing a cafe at that location which would be expected to offer the You’re Welcome facility, but to date there has been no evident progress and this toilet, previously used by disabled older people, remains padlocked, with the nearest available one 400meters away uphill in Queens Park. In this area there are many older people and a lot of residents in sheltered housing schemes. Going out without the knowledge that there is easy access to toilet facilities in a serious problem for these people.

The OPC has also tried to persuade the City Council to make more information generally available regarding the location of existing toilet facilities. The Council has produced a map to that effect but it is less than ideal: in the comparatively large area bounded to the east by Queens Park, to the west by Montpelier Road and to the north by Brighton station this current map shows just 11 toilets. The online information which the City Council provides on its website does contain full details of all current toilet facilities, which is admirable, but we wonder how many people in practice know about this or actually check this list before venturing out?

We are in economically hard times, and few people expect miraculous improvements. Nevertheless Council provision in a thriving city such as Brighton & Hove should not be beyond the public purse, and that provision should continue to be supplemented by community toilet schemes on the lines of the You’re Welcome scheme as currently operates (albeit somewhat modestly) in Brighton and Hove with the aim of ensuring a variety of outlets offering toilet facilities over a substantial part of the day and night. And if the Council is comfortable with licensing city-centre pubs and clubs until very early in the morning, corresponding facilities for toilet users should be available over the same range of hours.

Finally the local authority should involve the local community as a whole (not just a customer satisfaction survey) when devising their public toilet strategy

Jim Buttimer and John Barry
Members, Brighton & Hove Older people’s Council