Posted on: Wednesday 8 May 2024
The first part of a two-part consultation has been launched to improve understanding of the availability and accessibility of toilet facilities across Torfaen.
The first part of the consultation is aimed at businesses, organisations, and community groups that have toilet facilities on their premises and seeks to establish whether these can be accessed by anyone needing to use them.
In the United Kingdom, there is currently no legal duty for local authorities to provide public toilets, but they are expected to produce and review Local Toilets Strategies.
In 2019, Torfaen Councillors approved a Local Toilets Strategy that committed to continuing to provide the existing provision maintained by the Council in Blaenavon, Pontypool and Cwmbran. The Council also engaged with businesses and community venues at the time to produce a list of publicly accessible toilets and are now seeking to update and review this list.
Publicly accessible toilets play a crucial role in communities. The term can include ‘customer toilets’ but only if managers of the business are happy for people to pop in to use these facilities, without necessarily making a purchase during the visit.
Results from this consultation will be used to update the Local Toilet Strategy and to help the council understand any potential barriers to offering public access to toilets.
Councillor Mandy Owen, Executive Member for the Environment, said: “In the first part of this consultation we would like all businesses, organisations and community groups to tell us about any toilet facilities they have, and let us know whether or not they would be happy with the public using them, even if they are not a customer.
“For some people, knowing where their nearest toilet facility is located can be the deciding factor to whether they leave the house or not to carry out everyday tasks such as shopping, socialising or accessing vital services. A sufficient network of toilets is vital in any area, not only for inclusion but also to support the local economy”
“Being able to use the toilet is a basic human need, and the more places these facilities are available the better. We are committed to ensuring we have an up to date understanding of the availability and accessibility of toilet facilities across the borough.”
The first part of the consultation is for businesses, organisations and community groups only and closes on Friday 31 May.
The second part of the consultation, aimed at residents, will be launched after this information that informs the Local Toilets Strategy has been updated and assessed. Residents are encouraged to register at www.getinvolved.torfaen.gov.uk to be kept up to date on this and other consultations.
Get involved in the consultation
Find out more about public toilets in Torfaen