British Toilet Association: Archived News from the British Toilet Association 

Public Toilet Closures

Facts about public toilets in Wales

Age Cymru has unveiled the findings of new research into public toilet closures. Their findings are listed below:

We surveyed 434 over 50s from across Wales, with every local authority area in Wales represented.

We asked them “How good is the access to public toilets in your local area? Are they safe and of a high standard?’

We also asked them to rate public toilet provision in their area on a scale of 1 to 10 – with 1 being ‘very bad or difficult’ to 10 being ‘excellent or easy’.

The average rating given to public toilets from the 434 respondents is 3.36 out of 10. Other key findings of the survey included:

• 31 percent of respondents gave public toilets in their area rating of 0 out of 10;
• 10 per cent of respondents gave public toilets in their area rating of 1 out of 10;
• Seven per cent of respondents gave public toilets in their area a rating of 2 out of 10;
• Six per cent of respondents gave public toilets in their area a rating of 3 our of 10;

Overall, 54% of people who responded to our survey gave public toilets in their area a rating of 3 out of 10 or below.

Other research about public toilets in Wales

According to the Nowhere to Go report into public toilet closures in Wales published by Help the Aged in Wales in January 2009:

• 95 per cent of respondents found that their local public toilets are not open when they need them;
• 79 per cent of respondents do not find it easy to find a public toilet;
• 62 per cent of respondents agree that the lack of public toilets in their area stops them from going out as often as they would like;
• 78 per cent of survey respondents told us that public toilet provision in their area does not meet their needs;
• 80 per cent of respondents are frequently disturbed by the lack of cleanliness of their local public toilets;
• 84 per cent of respondents find that safety concerns make public toilets unappealing;
• 87 per cent of survey respondents felt that shops and businesses should make more effort to provide public toilet facilities;

Age Cymru 9th June 2010