Raymond Martin, MD of the British Toilet Association (BTA), reports.
Over the past 12 months, the British Toilet Association (BTA) has made more continued progress with our UK-wide campaign to reverse the decline in public toilet provision than we have seen in the last 20 years.
Moving forward, the Government and other public bodies are listening to and engaging with our argument for better public toilet provision.
We still have a long way to go - it could be a few years before we all achieve fundamental change - but I feel we have finally established considerable genuine support for our campaign.
Our Legalise Loos campaign primarily calls for the Government to introduce a mandatory and legal requirement for local authorities and town and parish councils to provide clean and hygienic public toilets in city and town centres.
Currently, local authorities are only providing public toilets as a discretionary service, where they think it appropriate.
As a result of this lack of legislation and control, the number of public toilets has reduced a staggering 40 per cent since 2000, impacting both people’s wellbeing and the economic health of our local shops, traders and business.
This affects people of all ages, whether travelling, participating in activities outside, or visiting family, friends and colleagues.
Estimates show that one in five people restrict their travel due to lack of public toilets, with around 14 million people having incontinence issues, up to 15 million people menstruating, and over 16 million people living with a disability.
Every decent society should cater for people who need to find relief and safety use the toilet while away from home.
A Royal Society for Public Health report (2019) stated: “Public toilets should be considered as essential as streetlights, roads and waste collection, and equally well enforced by legislation and regulations.”
But there is also a strong economic argument. The lack of toilet facilities damages our high street economy. Research shows that pedestrian-friendly investment generates 30 per cent more footfall in town centres and high streets that provide decent, clean toilets. For instance, recent research in Soho shows a lack of public loos equated to £4.9m every year in lost revenue.
Our hopes of a breakthrough were first raised when the creation of a Toilet Commissioner was proposed as part of the Government’s Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill. Disappointingly, the concept was removed and shelved in 2023.
Labour MP Alex Norris had tabled some amendments relating to public toilet provision to that bill.
We are delighted to confirm that he has retained a consistent interest in this issue, so we were delighted to see him appointed as minister for growth, including high streets and towns, following the last General Election.
In November 2024, a BTA delegation was invited to meet the minister and other supportive MPs in Westminster and we were thrilled when he listened and agreed that something had to be done.
After some considerable follow up research, our next meeting has been set for next month.
In the past few months, we’ve also addressed and won backing from the Trades Union Congress (TUC), the Road Haulage Association (RHA) and the Association of Town Centre Managers (ATCM).
Realistically, it will probably be a long time before we see any legislative changes, even if things go well, and we need to keep campaigning hard until our goals are achieved.
But a door that was closed for a long time has finally opened a little and that is all the encouragement we need.
http://www.btaloos.co.uk/
About the contributor
Raymond Martin
Managing Director
British Toilet Association