Submission by Bristol Older People's Forum

 

Some time ago the Government issued an edict that all public toilets should be made "disabled friendly". In Bristol the then (Labour) administration decided that it would cost too much to up-date many of the premises, therefore it was determined to close down those that fell into this category. In some instances they were sold to private individuals who now use them for other purposes.

 

As a Forum we raised the matter regularly with the following Lib Dem administration and latterly the Labour one. The Bristol Women's Forum has also been campaigning for improved toilet provision, and has asked to be associated with this letter.

 

We started out by telling them that it was not until one gets older that the necessity for the provision of good facilities becomes apparent! We have anecdotal evidence of elderly people being reluctant to leave home without knowledge of where they will be able to use a toilet. We added to this that mothers with children would also appreciate these facilities.

 

Not getting very far with these arguments we added the suggestion that tourists and people from outside the City (shoppers etc) would have a better impression of the City if such facilities were provided.

 

One of the suggestions from the Council was that they could encourage the owners of some suitable premises to make facilities available to members of the public. We thought that this would be a good idea, particularly as the Council itself owned many "suitable" premises around the City, (Libraries, Offices, etc) and stated that we looked forward to signs stating "Public Toilets" appearing outside these buildings. The Council's enthusiasm seemed to wane at this point. We have expressed our concern for postmen, bus crews and others working outdoors. When we were young there were toilets in many of our local parks, watched over by the park-keeper. These are now no longer employed and the toilets have been closed due to the ensuing vandalism.

 

Constantly we are told that there is no statutory requirement for Councils to provide public toilets. We argue that this may be so, but it doesn't prevent the Council from providing them and improving the quality of life for its residents and visitors.

 

Regarding financing, in an ideal world the Council would provide these facilities, as it use to when we were young, and in some cases staffed. However, time has moved on, and although councils seem to find money for their pet projects we doubt that they would provide free toilets. We note that bus and rail stations charge 20p for use of their facilities, and councils should do the same.

 

Regarding security, if staffing is not possible, we are in the age of CCTV and feel that, properly maintained, such systems could be used to discourage vandals and other undesirable elements.

 

We would like to see a Government directive to ensure that local authorities are required to provide these basic facilities which would enable people to go out without the worry of where to "go".

 

P.Taplin, Chair, Bristol Older People's Forum Val Walker, Co-Chair, Bristol Women's Forum