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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 5 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.