Memorandum submitted by London Borough
of Richmond upon Thames
1. SUMMARY
This submission outlines issues arising from
Richmond Council's groundbreaking Community Toilet Scheme. It
highlights some of the wider issues regarding "traditional"
and Council owned toilet provision in the borough and recommends
that the committee consider how government can provide financial
assistance for Councils wishing to refurbish their remaining toilets.
It also draws attention to the ongoing financial implications
for the Council arising from interest shown by other local authorities.
2. INTRODUCTION
The provision of toilets has an impact on social
inclusion as well as public health and hygiene implications. It
is one of the key concerns of many residents and yet there is
no statutory requirement for local authorities to provide toilets
and no Best Value Performance Indicator (BVPI) for toilet provision.
Richmond Council has been leading the way on
partnership based toilet provision through its innovative and
acclaimed Community Toilet Scheme. The scheme enables the Council
to work in partnership with local businesses to provide access
for the public to more clean safe toilets over most of the day.
Further information is documented within the Department for Communities
and Local Government's published Strategic Guide: Improving
Public Access to Better Quality Toilets.
3. BACKGROUND
Over the past two decades, along with many other
Local Authorities, Richmond has closed many of its public toilets,
because of the huge cost in investment required to bring the facilities
to a reasonable standard and issues related to dwindling use and
inappropriate behaviour. The backlog of repairs and refurbishment
reflected financial pressures over many years leading to lower
priority for and under investment in a non-statutory service.
Partly perhaps as a consequence of poor condition, many of these
facilities showed a low level of use.
In the late 1990s, Richmond Council introduced
a new partnership approach to the provision of public toilets,
inviting two local pubs to receive an annual income from the local
authority, in return for offering their facilities free of charge
to members of the public. The Community Toilet Scheme was launched
in 2004, building on this experiment and adding 12 further members.
In 2005 it was decided to re-launch and undertake a major expansion.
Following a subsequent review, signage has been improved. The
number of facilities in the scheme now stands at 67 with several
more being signed up at present.
4. SHARING BEST
PRACTICE
Local Authority interest in the Community Toilet
Scheme has steadily been gaining momentum. Richmond Council has
hosted several visits from other authorities along with a best
practice seminar on toilet provision in July 2007. We have submitted
information for the Greater London Authority's 2006 report into
toilet provision and made a presentation at their public hearing
in January 2006. More recently we made a presentation at the British
Toilet Association AGM in November 2007.
This Council has shared information for use
within the Department for Communities and Local Government March
2008 Strategic Guide: Improving Public Access to Better Quality
Toilets. The Council will be working with ENCAMs to produce a
toolkit about the Community Toilet Scheme for other local authorities.
It is anticipated that requests for further information and visits
to Richmond may increase in number as a result of this toolkit.
Since late 2007 interest has grown significantly with almost 100
Local Authorities contacting Richmond Council to find out more
about this innovative scheme. Meeting this level of interest has
become difficult to sustain and is making a significant drain
on scarce staff resources.
5. PROVISION
OF PUBLIC
TOILETS
This year Richmond Council will review its own
public toilets including those situated in civic buildings, parks,
libraries and cemeteries. There are significant costs associated
with the refurbishment of the five remaining traditional "highways"
public toilets as well as ongoing inappropriate behaviour issues
and dwindling use. There are resource implications in regard to
the public use of toilets at other Council owned buildings, including
the provision of ongoing cleaning and maintenance. In addition,
the Council will need to give due weight to reluctance of staff
at some locations to support public access to toilets that are
perceived as for use by staff only.
6. COMMUNITY
TOILET SCHEME:
RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS
The introduction of the Community Toilet Scheme
has enabled Richmond to provide access to far more toilets and
at more locations across the borough than it could have provided
through traditional and council owned properties alone. These
include areas of relative deprivation and are open longer hours
than "traditional" public toilets.
Whilst the cost of providing Automatic Public
Conveniences around the borough proved to be too high in terms
of cost to use ratio and the cost of renovating and continued
running of traditional public toilets is high, the cost of the
Community Toilet Scheme is comparatively low. However, in addition
to the set up costs of the scheme there still remain ongoing costs
for the provision of this type of toilet. This includes, annual
payments to scheme members, signage costs, publicity costs as
well as ongoing staff resource costs implications in terms of
inspection and monitoring of the premises and administrative and
partnership based resources required.
7. RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR CONSIDERATION
BY THE
SELECT COMMITTEE
The ability to charge the public for use of
toilets provided by Councils is welcomed but it is hoped that
government will recognise the need for further financial support
for local authority toilet provision. We would ask that the committee
consider the need for further government backed financial support
for local authorities wishing to refurbish their existing public
toilets and for ongoing associated maintenance, security and cleaning
costs.
It is also hoped that the committee will recognise
that the significant interest in Richmond Council's Community
Toilet Scheme has serious financial implications for this Council
and will recommend the provision of financial backing to enable
Richmond and other exemplar authorities to provide advice to other
local authorities.
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