Spending a penny may cost up to £1 in public loos revamp

WHEN you have to go, you’ll soon have to go to gender neutral facilities with foot-operated flushes, self-closing seats, sensor-activated taps, soap dispensers and toilet attendants.

And, if you’re a bloke, you can forget about using the old-fashioned urinals.

That’s because public loos are going to get a massive revamp in the post-covid-19 world near you.

It’s also likely that you won’t be able to spend a penny for free as the new-look public facilities are somehow going to have to be paid for: think contactless payments of between 50p and £1.

As lockdown restrictions are eased, the boss of the British Toilet Association (BTA) has been advising councils and companies on how to keep washrooms clean and safe amid a global pandemic.

In an interview with the Belfast Telegraph, Raymond Martin (right) said it was “time for a total redesign of public toilets” of which there are “around 60 run by councils in Northern Ireland” and over 200 in total.

He suggested the introduction of mandatory fees and attendants whose sole responsibility is to keep them “shiny and pristine at all times”.

Another proposal is the elimination of separate loos for men and women going forward — although Mr Martin believes “there should still be separate toilet blocks for men and women” where possible.

Gender neutral facilities could see men and women queuing at one door and exiting on the other side, with individual cubicles in between, while public urinals could also be a thing of the past

“We still believe in separate gender toilet blocks where possible — in shopping centres, for example,” he said.

“You’d have Men on one side, Ladies on the other and a disabled toilet round the back.”

Mr Martin also said potential solutions include foot-operated flushes and self-closing seats to sensor-activated taps and soap dispensers.

The watchdog’s chief executive told this newspaper that he is calling on the Government to invest in revolutionising the nation’s washrooms as a matter of “public health”.

“Toilets have a massive commercial effect on an area, which is why they are one of the first things you plan in any new shopping centre,” Mr Martin said.

“It’s going to cost a lot of money, but if we want to get back outdoors, to socialise, to go to parks and beaches, then the Government has to step in.

“We want to bring back life to Northern Ireland, and toilets are a vital part of that.”

Mr Martin said local councils understand the importance of public toilets. “They see the need for parents coming out with kids and people with disabilities, for example,” he said.

“The councils I deal with know they’re a vital piece of infrastructure.”

And he said they’re going to become increasingly important in Northern Ireland “because there’s going to be a huge spike in staycations as a result of coronavirus”. Mr Martin revealed that he’s currently “writing a strategy for Belfast”. “Belfast has closed all 14 public toilets in the city centre. They have to be reopened,” he said.

“We’re now looking at building a big toilet block right in the middle of Belfast, with modern toilets and attendants, etc.”

The BTA boss said he thought individual department stores would have to make big decisions about how they’re going to approach the toilet question.

“Health and hygiene will have to be ramped up,” he said.

“But I’m not sure if smaller shops will be able to offer that facility because you’ll need a toilet attendant and that’s going to cost upwards of £15,000 a year when you factor in all the costs — salary, National Insurance, etc — and that puts a big strain on the store.”

He added that there “needs to be a bit of a revolution”.

“The bottom line is we think the day of the free toilet is gone,” he said. “We also think customers should be paying anything from 50p to £1 to use the facility.

“We’re going to have to upgrade, we’re going to have to spend money on hygiene — for things like contactless touching and spray systems.”