British Toilet Association calls for public toilets to be protected as Lincolnshire councils reveal how many they have opened and closed
People may have to be prepared to reach into their pockets to spend a penny, suggests a charity, which says increased crime and overstretched council budgets are putting public toilets at risk.
Blighted by vandalism, anti-social behaviour and a lack of cash – the British Toilet Association says the issue has become a national crisis with few councils able to adequately ring-fence the funds needed to maintain good facilities in sufficient numbers.
LincsOnline asked all of the district councils in Lincolnshire as well as neighbouring Rutland County Council how many public toilets they had or maintained in 2010 compared to today.
These were the results:
South Kesteven District Council
2010: 9
2024: 4
There are three South Kesteven District Council-run public toilets open in Grantham located in Abbey Gardens, Dysart Park and Wyndham Park as well as facilities at the Rainbow Centre in Market Deeping.
A spokesperson for the council said the shut toilets in Conduit Lane, Grantham will be reopening as part of the Future High Streets Fund improvement works to the town while the South Street, Bourne toilets are currently undergoing works.
The district council shut the toilets in Grantham’s Arnoldfield, which it owned, and stopped leasing the facility at the town bus station.
The toilets in Red Lion Square, Stamford were sold to the town council for £1, following ongoing complaints about their state of repair and cleanliness. They were refurbished and reopened last year.
South Holland District Council
2010: 9
2024: 8
South Holland has had the same number of council-run toilet facilities since 2010, although one is now run by a parish council rather than at a district level.
These are located in Church Street in Holbeach, West Street in Long Sutton, Vine Street and Winfrey Avenue in Spalding, Bridge Road in Sutton Bridge, Sheepmarket and Ayscoughfee Gardens in Spalding and West Street, Crowland as well as the parish council-run toilets in Park Lane, Donington.
East Lindsey District Council
2014 (the council did not have the figures for 2010): 24
2024: 20
East Lindsey District Council owns 20 public toilets, eight of which it maintains and 12 of which are run by a contractor.
Since 2014 four toilet facilities were part of an asset transfer programme.
Rutland County Council:
2010: 3
2024: 2
The difference is due to one block being transferred to Uppingham Town Council in 2020.
The two council-run public toilets are at the John Street bus station and in Church Street, Oakham.
Both conveniences have disabled and baby change facilities.
Boston Borough Council
2010: 3
2024: 3
The facilities in Boston have remained the same for the past 14 years. They are located in Central Park, Bargate and Cattle Market and Lincoln Lane, Boston.
Lincoln City Council
2014 (the council did not have the figures for 2010): 13
2024: 10
Lincoln City Council did not confirm what happened to the three toilets it no longer owns or manages.
North Kesteven District Council did not respond to LincsOnline.
No legal protection
Public conveniences have been a fixture on UK streets for more than 150 years - yet councils are under no legal obligation to provide them.
The BTA fears if cash-strapped local authorities can't balance their books in the years ahead, and with no laws to protect them, many more toilet blocks may disappear.
Raymond Martin, British Toilet Association managing director, says he has ‘every sympathy’ with town planners - as less money from central government has made providing even essential services difficult.
He explained: “It costs £5,000 to £8,000 to run a standard toilet.
“The problem is in years gone by they were always attended but attendants cost a lot of money.
“These things are absolutely vital. Toilets are absolutely essential. It’s a party of our everyday life.”
Lincolnshire and Rutland in numbers
A Royal Society for Public Health report in 2019 estimated 700 publicly-owned blocks had shut across the UK since 2010.
Responding to those statistics, chief executive Shirley Cramer said: “Our report highlights that the dwindling public toilet numbers in recent years is a threat to health, mobility, and equality that we cannot afford to ignore.
“Standing in the way of this necessary and serious policy discussion is a stubbornly persistent ‘toilet taboo’, a decade of cuts to local authorities, and an increasingly ingrained notion that public toilets are merely a ‘nice-to-have’.”
Paying to use the loo?
But with public loos at risk without investment, what is the alternative?
While far from ideal the BTA believes a cash or card charge may ultimately have to be the way forward.
Mr Martin points to places like Blackpool, where ‘beautiful’ public toilets are now maintained by a private firm on the council’s behalf but users must pay a fee of around 40p to meet costs.
“People don’t blink now, people don’t mind. When they were free they were stinking. Now they are absolutely beautiful” he explained.
What do you think? Have you struggled to find an open toilet when you need to spend a penny? Let us know in the comments below.