At a time when the public finances are badly stretched and many councils have either declared bankruptcy or are too close to the line for comfort, the question of how to set a budget is often a difficult one. This means that a lot of consideration needs to be given to the provision of facilities like public toilets.
Closing these might save money, but, at the same time, if a local authority is planning an unpopular Council Tax rise, locals will want to see some return for this – especially in public places where they may have become used to having toilet facilities available.
Some councils may feel they cannot win whatever they do. But some steps can be taken to ensure that they make life easier for themselves.
Public Toilet Budgeting Decisions
Top of that list is to make sure toilet cubicles, washbasins, taps and toilet cisterns themselves are made as robust and vandal-proof as possible, to reduce repair costs and ensure facilities are not frequently out of action.
The good news is that many councils across the UK are willingly investing in new toilets. For instance, Edinburgh City Council is spending £600,000 on restoring closed facilities on Portobello Beach, after complaints that in the absence of such facilities, people were fouling and urinating on the beach itself.
A pair of closed toilets will now be reopened, while completely new facilities will be established at Cramond Beach.
In Bristol, there has been some debate about whether the council should reopen its toilets, with the opposition Labour Group on the Green-led council proposing to spend £1 million on restoring 18 public toilets that were closed in 2018.
The closure of the toilets had saved around £300,000 a year on maintenance costs, which may highlight the importance of having robust furnishings that will not need replacing or repairing, although there will still be general maintenance, cleaning and the occasional removal of graffiti to consider.
Tackling Vandalism
Of course, there is a lot else you can do to protect against damage if you are acquiring toilets for council-run facilities, as indeed might be the case for commercial premises that are used by the public, such as restaurants or museums.
For example, the Lynn News recently reported on how new CCTV cameras are being installed at the public toilets in the village of Swaffham after recent incidents of vandalism, both to act as a deterrent and to help catch anyone who does carry out such acts.
The fact that such things can happen even in small country towns rather than rough areas of big cities shows the problem is widespread, something that has also occurred recently in Shropshire, where toilets in Market Drayton have been repeatedly smashed up by vandals.
This has left councillors considering the step of closing the facility to avoid facing repeated repair and replacement costs.
Clearly, the situation is an unacceptable one there – after all, who wants to go to a public washroom only to find it has been rendered unusable? CCTV might help in Market Drayton too, but the situation may also be taken as a reminder that, all over the country, having robust facilities is essential to keep such costs down and washrooms open.
Vandal-Proof Toilets Make Costs Easier To Justify
While Edinburgh is reopening toilets and Bristol is at least set to discuss proposals – although they come from a minority group on the council – other local authorities may have to take tough decisions over closing some facilities down.
Some of these decisions may be driven by close votes owing to the fragmented political complexion of particular local authorities, whereas others may be dominated by a single party. But decisions may also be made on the basis of value for money.
That can be a nebulous concept, of course, but when it comes to investing in public toilets, knowing you are likely to only have to spend the money once makes it a more compelling proposition.
Perhaps Newport Town Council in Shropshire has the answer. While Market Drayton up the road may be closing its washrooms because of vandalism, it has temporarily shut its facilities, but only to carry out a programme of upgrades that will provide visitors to the town centre with something far better when they reopen after eight weeks.
The council said the new facilities will be “Modern, efficient and more resistant to vandalism” than those in place before, highlighting once again that for local authorities to be sure of spending squeezed cash reserves on public washrooms, it is important to ensure they offer something not only better than before, but resistant to the worst human instincts.
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