Why are there so few toilets anywhere?

[DominiqueBernard]

That is the thread. I need and want more toilets in public places.

It’s obviously the cost for the upkeep and fixing them when idiots trash them. If you are disabled or have a medical condition it is completely discriminatory though. My DD is 6, disabled and still in nappies. Even disabled toilets are no good as she is too heavy for baby changing tables. So we have change her on the floor. We use the disabled toilet because at least there is more room. But how bloody degrading it is to change her nappy on a disgusting public toilet floor. Just another example of how little disabled people are thought of in this country. Some places have a Changing Place but not enough.

Interestingly, according to the app posted, there's 4 toilet's within 500m which do not require a purchase to use them, one open 7am - 8pm in the car park and others are in Waitrose, the library and the community shop with varying hours. Not too bad

Most cafes and pubs are extremely hostile to anyone using their toilets without buying anything (understandably). And not everyone with a medical condition requiring frequent toilet trips - and there are a lot of us - can afford to pay pub/cafe prices every time we need to go. It's a serious problem and does lead to people being stuck at home.

@sprigatito

I've seen people use the pub toilets frequently without buying anything, they also refill people's water bottles willingly. They are listed on the "you can use our toilet app" as well

I think the beach is the only place I use public toilets. Otherwise it's a cafe or pub or supermarket or shopping centre. Even with DC not always good at giving much notice there's always been somewhere.

@user1497207191 Police don't have the numbers & councils can and do lock loos out of hours.

Most the places you name are out of town, i ve seen people pee in alley ways.

Women also use them for sex, also destroy them, not sure on the terrorist part. Woman also leave shitty nappies on the changing tables, not sure if the men do as don't go in their. Also used by gangs and loads of other things, you can't blame one gender.

If it really mattered, retail premises would receive a discount on their business rates to provide publicly accessible toilets.

I suspect this is very area-dependent. Where I live, pubs and cafes are very vigilant and will stop any non-customer they see making a beeline for the loo (which is incredibly humiliating), the only place you can really get away with it is Wetherspoons.

It’s another reason town centres are failing. Now M&S and Debenhams and House of Frazer have gone there are no toilets in my town.
Personally I don’t need the toilet straight after drinking in a cafe, more like an hour later. So I can’t hang around in town afterwards.
The only place you can sneak into is McDonalds now.

it's often a long walk in to the toilets in a supermarket, in our sainsbo's you'd have to go across carpark from road to the one entrance then upstairs and there's about 3 cubicles only. The toilets in our one shopping centre are the maximum distance from the front entrance. that's probably why there's all the fuss

We are in London so we tend to make use of the toilets in free museums and galleries or department stores. Most of the bigger parks have them too, and public libraries.

Because councils like to whine about not having any money (although they find plenty of other things to spend it on). See also rubbish disposal.

In the Channel Islands, which are not well known for being massively left wing and levying lots of tax, they have lots of public loos which are clean and even open on Christmas Day!

UK councils could do it if they tried. They choose not to.

Where I live, pubs and cafes are very vigilant and will stop any non-customer they see making a beeline for the loo

I've never seen that but some have the loos locked so you either need a code, or have to ask for the key.

It only matters (or matters more) to women, the elderly and disabled. So in effect, it doesn't matter.

I've also thought, as well as loos, that it would be useful to have an app which lists places where you can get a shower (whether free or paying).

If your hot water breaks down, or your shower breaks, it would be good to know where you can go instead.

Also, if you are disabled, it might be helpful to be able to find a shower when you are out and about.

I can only think of motorway service areas, and some leisure centres will let you use theirs for a small fee. A couple of years ago our hot water wasn't working and I managed to use a shower at a campsite!

I think it depends on area. In my nearest town there's toilets:
DIY store 9 am - 5pm
Library - 10 am- 2 pm
2 x supermarkets - late opening
Health Centre - late opening but probably not meant to use
Petrol station - doors only open till 10pm.often out of order
2 x council toilets - 24/7 but have to pay 50 p
The only ones I see vandalised are the pay to use council ones which regularly have the coin box bashed on then the inside vandalised.

Having read on here that a 14 year old girl was planning to have some grown up fun with her boyfriend in a public loo, I can understand why the council are closing them down

I'd happily pay that. Better to have the facilities available than not.

In Germany last year I had to pay a euro a couple of times (also contactless!)

We have a ‘community loo’ thing around us so some pubs and cafes have a stick in their window which means anyone can use their loo

But those who don’t may stop non customers

I've been impressed in France, where even some tiny villages have automated toilets like these: World Toilet Day: For over 40 years, JCDecaux has been committed to facilitating universal access to public hygiene facilities | JCDecaux

In our area they are paid by the councilto be part of a Comfort Scheme

It's cheaper than council run separate toilets and gives a degree of supervision

Seems to work well

Not just your town I think it’s the same everywhere. People are just disgusting and trash everything that’s why it costs so much to run them.

Drugs
prostitution
crime
cost of cleaning and problems of getting anyone to do that job

I know how you feel, OP. That's what I don't understand about this new craze of always carrying a Stanley water bottle around with you. I can't have more than one cup of tea in the morning before my dog walk otherwise I'm rushing home for the loo after 40 minutes

Our local park does have public loos but they're always locked on weekends!