Scandal of our vanishing public loos

NEARLY one in five public lavatories has closed in the past three years as councils try to cut costs.

loos, public bathrooms, pregnany women and disabled people, lavatories, hygiene, age-friendly communitiesALAMY

Loos are vanishing from our streets

In 10 council areas there are no public conveniences at all.

Campaigners for the elderly say pensioners who fear being caught short are being forced to stay at home rather than risk trips out. Pregnant women and people with disabilities are also being affected by the closures.

A survey of 252 local authorities in England shows 18 per cent of all council-run lavatories have been shut since 2010.

The South-west is the area worst affected with 28 per cent, followed by the North-west, 23, East Midlands, 22, and Yorkshire and the Humber, 20. Caroline Abrahams of Age UK, said: “Decent public toilets are vital to many older people and play a crucial role in creating age-friendly communities, where older people are able to get out and about and access essential services.

“Worrying about being caught short can have a devastating impact on people in later life, resulting in many being stuck at home and cut off from the rest of society.”

Toilets are not a luxury, they are essential to our health and well-being

Raymond Martin, of the British Toilet Association

Raymond Martin, of the British Toilet Association, said the closures would hit shops and tourism. He told the Sunday Express he was “dismayed” by the decline. “These are vital public services. As human beings there are five things we must do in order to survive – breathe, eat, drink, sleep and go to the toilet.

“Toilets are not a luxury, they are essential to our health and well-being.

“There needs to be an increase not a decrease in public toilets.”

Shadow communities secretary Hilary Benn published the figures after making Freedom of Information requests to 326 local authorities responsible for public toilets in England. Only 252 responded.

Mr Benn said: “Public loos are important, particularly for people with certain medical conditions, older and disabled people, pregnant mums and families with kids, and their disappearance can restrict some people’s ability to go out.”

Local Government Minister Brandon Lewis criticised councils for closing loos. He said: “Public toilets are an important local service and it’s disappointing that councils like mine in Great Yarmouth are taking the lazy option of closing them.

“If town halls stopped flushing away taxpayers’ money through bad procurement, bloated bureaucracy and fraud, they could find sensible savings to protect frontline services.”