Give us relief
The closure of public loos is driving families to distraction – and risks a new health disaster
BRITAIN risks becoming ‘a third world country’ because of the decision to keep public toilets closed during the coronavirus crisis.
Experts last night warned of another looming ‘public health disaster’ because the reopening of conveniences has not kept pace with the easing of lockdown.
Horrified families have spoken of seeing day-trippers defiling beauty spots and parks and there are fears shoppers will not return to the high street unless toilets are available.
Raymond Martin, managing director of the British Toilet Association (BTA), said a decade of austerity had already seen councils close facilities and a ‘revolution’ was required for WCs in the Covid-19 era.
‘We’ve had reports of people urinating in gardens and defecating in between beach huts on the south coast [of England],’ he said. ‘We’re not a Third World country, for goodness sake. We were once the envy of the world for our standards of hygiene and provision.’
Facilities were closed when strict social distancing rules were introduced in March because of fears the virus would be spread by people touching handrails, gates, door handles and light switches.
Some councils and parks have reopened their toilets, but an appeal by the Government to open more has largely been ignored. Those include toilets operated by Royal Parks in eight London green spaces and the National Trust, which says it will only make them available when ‘it is safe to do so’.
Warm weather last weekend saw a rush to beauty spots, including
Cornwall, Dorset and Loch Lomond. Bristol councillor Paul Smith likened his city centre to a ‘huge urinal’, while Peak District cyclist Tom Clark said the area had been left devastated by people who ‘have forgotten how to behave’.
‘Litter, gates left open, regular whiff of marijuana, fires caused by barbecues, human and dog excrement,’ he said. ‘All public toilets are closed in order to deter visitors and while out on my bicycle I’ve seen a lot of public urination.’
Government scientific adviser Professor Robert Dingwall said if public toilets were cleaned ‘to the same standards as commercial ones’ there was ‘nothing much to worry about it’ and cautioned that human waste might pose a greater danger to health than Covid-19.
‘Toilets carry away infections, viruses and bacteria that may ordinarily be present in the lower part of our gut,’ he said. ‘If they get to the upper part, they are capable of causing serious stomach upsets and serious infections.
‘If you have piles of human waste littering beauty spots, they do pose a health risk.’
Cuts to council budgets have led to the closure of at least one in seven public toilets and the BTA estimates 80 per cent of councils had cut spending on maintenance. High street stores are gearing up to reopen but the continued closure of pubs and restaurants means there are already fewer conveniences.
Tesco has kept its toilets open and John Lewis said it will implement a ‘rigorous and frequent cleaning regime’.
The Government said that it ‘strongly encourages’ councils to open toilets where possible.
But the Local Government Association, which represents councils, said: ‘People should not assume toilets will be open and plan outdoor activities accordingly.’