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Original poster

Public toilet facilities in your area....

28 replies

Chottie · 24/02/2017 12:22

Following on from all the workmen / toilet threads, what public toilets are available in your area?

All the local public toilets have closed down where I live (south east London), but there are toilets in the shopping centres and some cafes and cinemas have joined the local neighbourhood facility scheme which means you can use their toilets without having a buy a drink or watch a film. These are clearly signposted.

OP posts:
kat088 · 24/02/2017 12:59

None near me as far as I know, nor a neighbourhood scheme. It's pretty annoying with small kids as I feel bad going in cafe's a not buying anything.

LadyPW · 24/02/2017 13:00

Library - when it's open. Pub - when it's open. A cafe - ditto. And the M&S Simply Food - open much more than the rest. But they are apparently thinking of installing some new properly public toilets....

Soubriquet · 24/02/2017 13:01

There's two public conveniences that are usually in a terrible state and/or shut

Luckily not far from one is a Sainsbury's and not far from the other is a Beales. Both have bathroom facilities

SparkleTwinkleGoldGlitter · 24/02/2017 13:06

We live right out of town so you'd have to drive 20-30 minutes depdending on traffic and use either the library or shopping centre. We use to have more public toilets in the town but they've been closed due to council lack of funds?

The nearest park is only in the town (20-30 minutes away) they have toilets but last time I couldn't change dd as they were closed for re fit

TrueBlueYorkshire · 24/02/2017 13:07

They have just demolished all the ones in my area. There are loads of pubs open from 11am onwards though so it isn't a problem.

iklboo · 24/02/2017 13:09

Library, cafes, pubs & supermarket when they're open otherwise none.

Pinkheart5915 · 24/02/2017 13:11

We have public toilets in our village we get a lot of walkers and the cafe/restaurant also have toilets.

NeedsAsockamnesty · 24/02/2017 13:13

We have one load that are decent but not accessible if you have mobility issues, the rest are filth ridden crack dens

MrsXXD · 24/02/2017 13:14

I usually use a loo in the shopping centre or a café even though I don't like going in just to use the loo. There are one lot of public loos but they absolutely stink...

melj1213 · 24/02/2017 13:20

In town there is one set of public toilets just behind the high street and public loos in Debenhams just down the road but other than that the only toilets in town are in cafes/restaurants/pubs and the only other public ones are in the supermarkets in out of town retail parks.

I know a lot of places have restrictions on people using the facilities without being a customer because they are privately owned places and are tired of people traipsing in and out of their establishment and effectively costing them money by using their facilities without buying anything that goes towards their upkeep. Obviously if you were desperate, with a child or someone with a disability then most are understanding of emergencies and will accommodate you but I know of one small cafe that is on the edge a local park that have started being really strict about buying something before you can use their loo because so many park users were treating them as public loos and inconveniencing their paying customers and getting rude if it was pointed out that it was a private cafe, not public convenience.

There are quite a few public toilets on the outskirts of town but I don't count them as I live in a rural town on the coast so we have a couple of beaches/nature reserves etc with toilet blocks next to the car parks, with no buildings nearby so unless you were going to the specific tourist site you would have to go out of your way to use them so they don't really count as being truly available to anyone "passing by" iyswim?

CrohnicallyPregnant · 24/02/2017 13:22

I have 3 towns near me. 2 have public toilets at one end of town, could be 15-20 mins walk from the other end, and one town has a large park which does have toilets open when the park keepers are around.

Other than that, if I need the toilet and the library is open I go in there. I figure it's a council building, and one that is free to use.

DJBaggySmalls · 24/02/2017 13:28

Most of the council run ones are now closed because of austerity measures.
There are some in the shopping centre and some ancient stinky ones in the park. the GP surgery have some as does the bus station and the supermarket.
They are about a 40 minute walk apart and its sometimes faster to get the bus home.

NennyNooNoo · 24/02/2017 13:33

In our nearest town:
3 free ones on the market place which when I last went were clean
One in the Library
Several in Tesco and Morrisons
Or I have used the one in the doctors surgery when passing by.

Not a problem here but I can imagine it is a problem in some places. Our village has none.

AveEldon · 24/02/2017 13:48

Local options are Sainsburys or the library (not open every day)
We have a Waitrose but they don't have loos

Sixgeese · 24/02/2017 13:57

We have a similar "community toilet " scheme, no public toilets but you are able to use the toilets of select cafes etc which have signs up, supposedly without having to order.

I hate it, last time I tried to use one with DC3, a waitress followed us to the toilet despite me telling her were were only doing a quick toilet stop, to give me a menu.

There is also a toilet in the library but it is only for under 12s and kept locked. I have been known to tell one or other of the DC that they needed to go, and pop in after them.

thunderbuddy · 24/02/2017 14:02

None at all in our town.
In nearest town one public free open 11am to 3pm Monday to Friday.
A staff one in library they will sometimes let you use.
One in Mcdonalds.

In other nearest town non in shopping centre apart from in Costa.

One in Mcdonalds
Public ones which cost 30p

Old place we lived had none which was a nightmare with sen dd.

WhatHaveIFound · 24/02/2017 14:07

There's a McDonald's, KFC and a Costa which all have toilets as does the library. Apparently there's one in the park but that didn't stop a runner taking an alfresco #2 in broad daylight last year Shock

JennyOnAPlate · 24/02/2017 14:10

There are no public loos in my nearest town. Until recently we would nip into costa and use their loo, but they now have a key code thingy on the door with the code printed on their till receipts (so you can't use them if you haven't bought anything). I understand why they've done it but it's a real pain.

Notso · 24/02/2017 14:16

Our town used to have the community toilet thing but I think it has either stopped or businesses have pulled out. I've noticed signs on a couple of the cafes saying toilets for paying customers only.
The park has one of those 20p toilets that self cleans but it's often used by drug addicts, several times have gone to use them with kids to find someone asleep or shooting up in there, once had to phone an ambulance as a guy was passed out in a pool of vomit.
Quite a few shops with toilets. Public toilet in the market is ok. Old public toilets at one end of town which again were used by drug addicts have been closed and replaced with 20p toilets and a needle exchange. Other ones in town centre have been demolished and not replaced.
Shopping centre has fab toilets always clean, the whole thing is manned so they can't be abused. Their disabled toilets have hoists and adjustable changing beds, the only downside is there's no separate baby change its in the disabled toilet, however Debenhams has a baby change/feeding room and a family toilet with two loo's which is handy.

MimsyFluff · 24/02/2017 14:17

Only one that is only open on market day for half a day! If I were a delivery driver here I'd have to drive to a supermarket 15 miles away but if a delivery driver I would ask a business I was delivering too and wouldn't think that would be rude.

talidinozzo · 24/02/2017 19:13

I live on the very edge of town (average market town in the south east) and there are none until you get into the town centre. Then you have two lots of public toilets, one near a park and the other right in the centre. They're pretty decent as facilities go.

Topseyt · 24/02/2017 19:21

There are good public toilet facilities in the main car park of our small town.

I think the parish council pay for their upkeep, but they are much needed because although we are a small town it is quite touristy and gets not just locals, but at certain times of the year a fair number of visitors.

They have always been well kept whenever I have been in.

khajiit13 · 24/02/2017 20:24

No public toilets in my town. A coupe of pubs and cafes but no where that you can pop in without a raised eyebrow for going to the loo without a purchase.

Lostpangolin · 24/02/2017 20:30

York, being hugely dependent on tourism, has very few public loos. Those there are, are not easy to find, and cost 40p to use. Scarborough similar, with same charge. All part of the cuts I supposeHmm

austenozzy · 24/02/2017 20:35

For some reason, our small Cornish village has public loos. I've never used them so have no idea what state they're in. We also have a pub right over the road from them, and a cafe. There's also a functioning and clean payphone.

The beach about a mile away has public loos too, and they're in decent condition.