To expect the toilet in the park to be open?

Councils are only bankrupt through bad management

So, nothing to do with the fact that the Government has cut over a billion pounds from my Council's budget since 2010 ?

According to the Local Government Association, by the 2024-25 financial year councils will have seen a 27% fall in spending poweron local services since 2010.

Whilst serving increasing population, and, as @soupfiend has said, still having to provide statutory services.

No private company has to provide statutory services which take money out of the council and dont bring anything in, you know those boring old inconvenient children on child protection plans, children needing foster homes, legal proceedings costing hundreds of thousands of pounds, SEN provision, elderly care and adult services, the list is endless

Go before i leave? A. I have IBS so a go a few times a day some days B. dont know when its going to happen as that is the nature of this affliction and C. cant shit to a timetable!!!

Yes I agree with this, I need the toilet about 10-15 or so times a day I am thankful there are toilets around but they are a privilege not a right

Your post makes no sense linguistically and also bears no relation to the subject of the thread.

Councils are only bankrupt through bad management, no private company would spend money like councils - need to save money, where to cut:

Social services - cut to apply pressure on government for more funding

Changing road layouts in town and city centres - spend money on that as no one is going suggest extra funding for that

It's not only vandalism, it's the cost of keeping them open even when they're not being vandalised. Someone to maintain the plumbing, someone to clean them several times a day, it all adds up. So many councils are bankrupt.

Go before you leave.

Most people are only in the park for a couple of hours.

Most kids go through a phase of wanting to use the toilet but when their parent(s) drag them to a toilet, they produce no or little wee. It’s some kind of attention seeking thing.

Most councils, including mine don’t have any public toilets (bar those 30p charging ones) as they were vandalised and used by druggies. Think some of the vandalism is caused by the druggies if they don’t get that ‘hit’ in time.

No. You made a later post. I responded to your earlier post. Have you ever used the internet before?

Right?! I don’t disagree with you, I didn’t vote these idiots in, either at a local or national level! Makes me sick.

Arlanymor yes even with the extra and all the cuts it's not touching the sides of the debt. Forces of evil in a bozo nightmare, indeed 😀

PS. @InATimeOfChimpanzeesIWasAMonkee Your username rocks, I can’t stop humming Loser now.

But the extra 10% (22% where my parents live) is just running to stand still. It’s filling a deficit not new funds. It’s horrendous, I don’t disagree, but it’s not new money for new things, it’s to stop a complete collapse.

YANBU at all. I was out with young DC yesterday and despite planning in toilet visits, naturally the 3yo needed the loo in the playground despite having been brought in the cafe half an hour before. I was so glad to find the ones in the park open, I don't think she would have made it to the nearest business and was debating whether to try or bring her for a bush wee.

Loos are essential.

We're paying the extra 10% and still don't have any public toilets at all, because of the corrupt Tory council who made such ridiculous financial decisions that the council went bankrupt.

@INeedToClingToSomething

17:23: My father has a medical need and because of a lack of public toilets has to wear adult sanitary wear in case he is caught short.

But he wouldn’t call any council unreasonable for not being able to afford to keep them open. Unfortunate, but not unreasonable.

You posted at 22:47… and I can’t time travel. Care to apologise?

I mentioned my dad needing adult sanitary ware! Maybe you skipped a few posts in order to shout at me?

Just because I know the dire state of funding doesn’t mean I am glib or flippant or don’t care. I am stating facts. Also believe it or not, I am not responsible for running this country into the ground and am just as angry as anyone. Because I can express myself without being ranty doesn’t mean I don’t give a shit, but I also live in the real world.

Why are you angry at me? I’m not responsible for any of this. Yes councils should cut their cloth according to their finances, I never said otherwise. Go pick on someone else.

I'm not disagreeing with you, it's a problem, I'm just amazed you can't see WHY they don't have them open. Because they cost money to run that the council doesn't have.

The cafe on the other hand makes money, which is why they do have it open.

Simple economics, do you not understand that?

Yes this works well in some areas (eg last time I was in Scotland there were public loos in the towns I visited, and they cost 20-30p to use at the time).

More public showers would be good too - leisure centres are often a good option for those, but of course they are not in every town and aren't always open.

Another issue is that different councils are responsible for different things. For example, my county council will cut the opening times at tips, because it's the district councils that have to deal with fly-tipping.

We need unitary authorities with one set of admin staff, and with joined up policies. They would also have more bargaining power when procuring services (some already work together I know).

@Arlanymor then if it's just a 'resource' issue then council officers must cut the cloth to suit, downsizing ALL resources including themselves and what they get out of apportioning the 'resources' - so maybe a downsize of extra-statutory minimums of leave, holiday, sickness, maternity pay and lets slash the personnel training budgets, twin-town jollies and pension contributions as a few suggestions to start with.

I'm sure that would keep a couple of public toilets open and possibly put in some disabled access ramps in place and maybe even run a much needed youth club once a week.

I go to a lot of quieter areas. The problem with finding toilets closed is that people will just choose to go around them. Over time, this can leave a big mess.

I don't know, that's never crossed my mind 🤷‍♂️

But I know what the locals think...that it's shocking, and yet despite the petitions, nothing ever gets done.

Also it's not unusual to see people disappearing into bushes, where I can only assume they've gone for a wee.

This ^ is the crux of it.

What must people from other countries European countries think!

eh?
When I am in a park in another country, I don't particularly expect there to be toilets either. Not sure why other Europeans would expect things to be different here.