So Manchester city has nine public conveniences ...
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And under the planned next wave of cuts, is to close all but one of them to serve nigh on a million people.
Does anyone in their right mind not believe the provision of loos to be a priority public need? For goodness sake, people create waste products by default and need some basic facilities to be able to do that.
I do not believe that local government can expect the private sector to pick up the tab here. I meet many small and larger business owners that regret the provisions of loos within their establishment due to public abuse.
I, for one, know where the public loos are when I am out and about and without those facilities I would have to rethink my whole daily strategy.
Okay, I understand that local authorities have no legal requirement to provide the provision but what a retrograde step to shut down eight of the nine city's facilities.
Yes, I know we have been here before but why not let the private sector run toilets? Charge 50p a go and they have £50 income for every hundred visitors and I suggest that could be achieved every hour. And I would have no objection to paying 50p for a well lit, attended and regularly cleaned facility, after all it is not every day, is it.
I'll say it again, to have one public loo for nearly one million people is obscene. People may not have the right to demand them but they certainly have the need.
Responses (4)
Hi Snoopy48
Another thought provoking one!
I agree that for many the need for public conveniences is a priority - young and old. I rarely use what is called outdoor public conveniences, on the whole they are dirty, stinky, poorly lit and have a general feel of menace. My other complaint about public conveniences are that they are rarely big enough to get a buggy inside so for most mums with young ones on their own, they are problematic to use, as the disabled toilet that would be big enough are generally locked.
I do however know where most of the public conveniences are inside of department stores, and the shopping centre of my town and these are the toilets that I use when out and about. I suppose that if these places started charging for the use of the facilities I would pay to use them (but if only if I had not bought anything that day or used their cafe).
Hang on, haven't Mancunians got homes equipped with toilets? Can't they go before they leave? And if they do decide to eat or drink while they're out, every cafe, pub, restaurant and fast food eaterie has loos so it's not like they're ever more than a couple of minutes away from a toilet.
As far as charging goes - I'd like to see them free for residents (maybe use library cards as 'swipe' cards to get entry?) while tourists and visitors need to pay. Having swipe card or paid for entry might also keep them from being mis-used too. Can't see too many vandals paying for the privilege of breaking something or leaving their name and address logged via library card swipe in!
You're obviously younger than some of us other members, G-Man! Yes, of course we all 'go' before we leave the house, but we don't have the timespan we once did. And you don't have to eat or drink anything for that to be true either.
By the way, libraries, what libraries?
Hmm. Maybe free catheters and colostomy bags on the NHS is the answer? Go where you want, when you want and flush it when you get home...
Going from nine down to one is crazy. People would be able to accept cuts if they were cut by a reasonable number and not slashed to almost Zero. And G-man, just because you don't have the need for a public toilet when you are out and about (I rarely do either, to be honest), doesn't mean that everybody doesn't - so have a heart! My old uncle counts on the one public loo in his market town when he goes shopping. Some people of his age, particularly, have always known that kind of facility to be around and would be lost without the option.
It's not only the million people who live their, it's the millions of other folk that visit the city every year. I don't know about you G-Man, but I need a loo more than once or twice a day. I leave my home at around 10am and seldom return from work until 9pm. I deliberately avoid drinking tea while I am out for this very reason and you try working as an outside officer for four hours after 5pm where you have to visit a restaurant or even someone's home to access a loo. This is the real world.
And what about the thousands of folk on diuretic blood pressure medication ( me for one )? A morning dose of that means you have to see a loo at least twice in the next hour. I do not and cannot eat and drink out every evening that i am working. I would hate to have to rely on those establishments purely for a loo.
We are talking about normal people with normal biological systems ticking over and normal biological needs. We live in a world of undue stress as well .. and what dose stress produce? The need to excrete a lot more water!
I firmly believe that a lot of people who know they will need a loo at least once if they go out may well decide not to if the facilities are all closed. Victorian Britain made public conveniences a delight and a pleasure to enter for a very much acknowledged and gracious and necessary service. I think this measure is simply going away from the recognition of human needs, we may as well all be built out of cardboard!
I suggest that these drastic 'slashes' can onyl mean misery!
Ah the joy of diuretics, Snoops! At least this is less of a problem now I'm retired, but I have to think hard about it on days when I'm going out.
I've been into a pub just to use the loo but I feel guilty if I don't have a drink while I'm there so it's a vicious circle.
Slashes in public services, oh don't get me started! I had to have a slash last week (of my household budget) because of the high cost of public loos!
feline ... budgetary note for loo paper .. use both sides. Or use the indigenous recylced variety, only comes in one colour though.
Heh, so taking slashes in public services is a real problem when it prevents you taking slashes in public conveniences, eh?
Ah yes the age old gripe of not finding a public convenience when you desperately need one is by the looks of it will now be getting worse.
I personally can't stand the places but have often been very grateful when I've been 'caught short' and paid whatever the asking price was and these days it's usually much more than a penny.
I can't see anyone objecting to a nominal charge for as you say Snoopy a well lit, clean facility, lets hope the debacle on this one fizzles out.
what next take your own tissue to save them money and a nappie bag for it to go in after, just to save on water aswell, tut
Ha krill, we would have to carry around our own version of the 'doggy do' disposal bag complete with pocket sized loo rolls.
Ugh - the thought!!
Given that Michael Gove was accused yesterday by a High Court judge of abusing his power by failing to consult with those people whom his decision affected, perhaps local councils should be held to account too!
It is an offence to urinate in a public place and this is often punishable by a fine and yet without the provision of public toilets what alternative are people left with? Manchester has a vibrant night culture with bars, clubs, theatre's etc..and yet the infrastructure to support these people just isn't there. This will ultimately increase anti-social behaviour.
It would appear that people are paying their council tax for services that no longer exist or are greatly reduced. All I can personally see is that my council tax is being used to pay for number crunchers and management consultants and not for actual services which benefit the residents of that authority.
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