News / Public Toilets
Call for review of Bristol’s community toilet scheme
Scrutiny councillors have demanded a review of Bristol’s controversial community toilets scheme amid concerns residents are being caught short.
The project, which calls on businesses, organisations and charities to open up their loos to everyone for free, was launched 12 months ago when the council shut the city’s on-street public loos, with the loss of 18 public conveniences.
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is needed now More than ever
Read more: 18 public toilets to close in Bristol as funding slashed
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Campaigners argued the closures, which will save the city council £440,000 a year, would affect the most vulnerable, including the elderly, children and disabled people.
A report to the communities scrutiny commission on Monday said there were now 84 such community toilet sites across Bristol.
But members expressed concerns the scheme had set no minimum distances someone would be expected to walk to the nearest available public loo or the hours they should be open.
The public toilets by the Suspension Bridge have been taken on by the Downs Committee
Commission chairman Gary Hopkins said: “It’s a pretty vital resource the city council is generally expected to provide.
“The number of operators is okay but the numbers don’t mean anything if they’re not in the right place or open when people need them.
“100 toilets in Avonmouth are not much use to someone in Bedminster.
“We need some standard of how far people are expected to go to find a toilet at defined times of the day.
“If we’re completely failing to provide a reasonable service in an area because there aren’t enough volunteers coming forward then we need to do it ourselves.”
Transport campaigner David Redgewell told the meeting: “There are shops which close at 5pm. It’s not clear where any disabled toilets are in the city.
“There’s no information for bus passengers. There is an assumption that everyone knows what’s going on in a city that relies on £1.4billion of tourism.
“It’s pretty shabby, to be honest. We still haven’t got a proper list of community toilets
“None of this is rocket science but it’s been going on for a year.”
Officers also admitted retailers were failing to sign up to the scheme because they were not permitted to refuse entry to anyone using their loos.
Neighbourhood services manager Lindsay Hay said: “There is a reluctance in some city centre shops, particularly because of the ongoing issues they already experience in the way toilets are used.”
But she added: “In terms of distribution and provision, it’s a very significant increase.”
The council-run toilet closures did not include public conveniences in Bristol’s parks.
Four of the 18 sites were transferred to the Downs Committee to manage, with the other 14 decommissioned during 2018.
Adam Postans is a local democracy reporter for Bristol
Read more: D-day looms for Bristol’s public toilets
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