How is this even allowed (no toilets)

[girlfriend44]

A charity have a sporting session every week in a park but there are no toilets?
How's that even allowed ?
Anyone else think it's awful?
I've heard people say go behind a Bush, that's not nice or practical.

Shouldn't have too anyway, they should find a venue, where they have toilets and changing facilities?
Would you attend?

I’m guessing not many people know the reality of living with bowel and bladder disorders!
Now that IS depressing.

There would be very few outdoor activities in villages if there had to be loos. I can't think of a village in.my area that has a single public toilet.

What a terrible reply @ZeroFuchsGiven Do you really behave like this day to day?

I know women who have bladder issues and they need a wee every 20 minutes. They have seen their dr and often specialists and there is no treatment that completely works. It's called IC- interstitial cystitis or Painful Bladder Syndrome. It can make people hermits as their lives revolve around a loo.

Who are you to say what is a reasonable time to want a wee?

Or what about people with IBS who need to poo NOW ?

Clearly you are ignorant of the medical conditions people have and saying see a dr is just plain dumb.

Also depressing if they just expect other people to provide what they want rather than saying 'what can I do about this to get what I want/need' rather than saying 'look at this, I'm going to complain'.

So you suggest what? One person writing to the council or their local MP in the hope of getting loos opened or built?

Get real.

At 20p per person - how long to recoup

land cost
buildings cost
Plumbing to main sewer line
maintenance cost
heating and lighting cost
cleaning cost?

remember this is for loos right around the whole coastline, for the countryside, hills, mountains etc. because you want to cater for this basic human need everywhere, don’t you?

otherwise it’s unfair.

It's a basic human need to want to go to the toilet.😒

So don't go??? No one is forcing you to. There are plenty of gyms, classes, clubs that are in a centre of some sort.
It isn't unusual for things to be held in a park.
Lots of paid for fitness classes take place in a park near me. It is a choice.

Well obviously those activities are not suitable for someone with those issues so they should find something that is suitable. or find another club that suits better, its not difficult but it is entitled to expect the CHARITY to fork out for somewhere with loos that will cost extra and probably hike the prices up for other members. Op is being ridiculous by not just saying what the activity is then maybe I would change my opinion but as it stands i cant and wont.

Also depressing if they just expect other people to provide what they want rather than saying 'what can I do about this to get what I want/need' rather than saying 'look at this, I'm going to complain'.

Complaining directly does help, saying nothing and just moaning about it doesn't. The Parish Council were planning to close the public toilets at the recreation ground in our village permanently and not replace them. Lots of us made damned sure they were replaced.

OK, so is OP complaining that the charity is running an event in a space without facilities and should move venue, even if it involves charging more, or is it a thread about councils not providing adequate toilets in public spaces? Or is it about disability and inclusion?
I personally think event organisers should be allowed to run cheap events where they can - better some activity than none at all, no?
Yes, I agree that councils should provide more public facilities or re-open existing ones but that is a whole different conversation and no two councils will ever have the same funds available to make this uniform across the country.
Yes, disabilities and medical conditions are important and people shouldn't feel excluded but not absolutely everything organised in the community can cater for absolutely every single person in that community and, rightly or wrongly, some people just have to find alternatives, either another sport/exercise, another venue, travel further, pay more, look at more specialised sessions. Sad, but it's a fact of life. And yes, I count myself among those who aren't always easily catered for.

Speaking as someone with a medically-treated bowel issue (not to mention a dodgy bladder) I fully understand the panic of needing a loo. In fact before going on holiday instead of reading a guidebook I am downloading maps of toilets and I could never, ever go on a tour

BUT some people are either remarkably stupid or remarkably entitled. I remember during lockdown when people were discovering the countryside, all the moaning about lack of facilities on top of mountains - even whining about no coffee places as well as no loos.

'Get real' and there's the truculent response.

So what do YOU suggest?

It's not entitled to want plenty of public loos. Fucksake. Get some standards. I don't want revolting men pissing up the walls everywhere. We're talking about a public park not a fucking natural feature.

We also still don't know the activity. Whether it's likely to induce the urge to urinate or defecate. How long the activity runs for. Whether there are other, nearby public facilities that are just not in the immediate vicinity.

My local village park and town park officially do not have toilets. But, if the community centre or library is open, the public are able to use those facilities within a short walk. Otherwise, it's a slightly longer walk into town for pay to use public toilets.

The town manages to organise quite a lot of events and not provide extra facilities. They even run them on days where the library is closed! The village has lots of sporting events and just opens up the centre for use.

if you can't last the session without needing the loo, you should see a doctor. And if it's over 2 hours, they'll definitely take a break allowing you to find a public loo nearby.

How long is the event?

I do yoga in the park weekly, there are no toilets, I pay for the service - should she therefore book somewhere with toilets?

I'm leaning to YANBU as I am someone with a condition that requires access to a loo (and without it I wouldn't enjoy what I was doing anyway).

The whole 'go before you leave' brigade are the lucky ones that don't need to think about toilet access as they don't have issues. So I wouldn't listen to those responses. But we have to be realistic, there will be times when it's just not possible and we have to find other activities or places offering this activity that can accommodate our needs. Very few parks here have decent facilities, so I factor that in and make a decision on what I think I can do.

If they are the only people offering the activity then it's not great. If it's something you can do elsewhere with facilities then I wouldn't give it any more headspace.

There cannot be toilets absolutely everywhere for people to always have immediate access to.

There are in Latvia. Every train station has at the very least a clean and spacious portaloo. At regular intervals along the beach. Frequent intervals in large parks.

The OP is, however, being ridiculous, not necessarily because of her reasoning, but because she won't answer any basic bloody questions.

Plus being a charity isn't relevant unless the sporting activity is a therapeutic activity that relates to conditions where continence may be a factor. People really do think that charity = magic fountain of pure benevolence.

There's an interesting conversation to be had about accessibility, but OP isn't really contributing to it.

This thread is a beautiful example of the split between those who feel entitled to have everyone else look after them in every basic way, and those who are self sufficient, or at the very least adaptable.

I challenge anyone to name a single activity and venue that is inclusive to ALL people.

🙄

This thread is also a beautiful example of people who are ignorant of some medical conditions which prevent millions of people being able to go out and do things that they should be able to.

Public loos are not 'being looked after in every way'.

They are a basic human need, to be able to use a toilet when necessary (not according to some other person's subjective opinion of how often that is.)

What is your 'challenge' supposed to prove?

Of course not everyone can participate in in everything.
But everyone wees and poos. Some more than others.

The limited public loos in the UK are a disgrace and many are closed as the result of councils badly managing their budgets and simply not caring.

I'm old enough to remember when their were public loos in every town, park, even a cemetery, all easily available. Many now are closed.

Yes, lack of public loos is an issue - but not the issue here. The events I participate in have venues miles from any public loos - often remote and rural. It is not realistic or cost effective to provide toilets for the smaller events. If that was a requirement then they just wouldn't happen. Who would that benefit?

@DozyDelia - and your post is a great example of making assumptions about others

I know exactly what it is like to have bladder issues, because I had a fibroid the size of a watermelon pressing on my bladder. I bled so much I was severely anemic

FWIW I’m 60 and have never seen a loo in a graveyard

Yes, disabilities and medical conditions are important and people shouldn't feel excluded but not absolutely everything organised in the community can cater for absolutely every single person in that community and, rightly or wrongly, some people just have to find alternatives, either another sport/exercise, another venue, travel further, pay more, look at more specialised sessions.

I wholeheartedly agree.

The limited public loos in the UK are a disgrace and many are closed as the result of councils badly managing their budgets and simply not caring.

I agree that we do need more public loos, but what do we do about the scroats that vandalise them every time they are done up and re-opened? It is a massive problem in our local market town, and this is why they have been permanently closed. I have been known to nip into the local GP surgery to use their loos before the supermarket was built.

When they have a public event like the mayor's parade and agricultural show there are portaloos, but anyone needing the loo just before a park run will just have to pop into Tesco.

Our village are having a summer fair in the rec. There won't be any loos there, but everyone attending will within a 5 or 10 minute walk to their home anyway.

If it doesn’t work for you then join a different sport or activity. They can’t build toilets. Only an hour and making it clear there’s no loo is fine.