United Nations World Toilet Day on 19 November saw the new London Loo Alliance calling for urgent action to address the chronic shortage of public toilets in the capital.
The newly-formed London Loo Alliance brings together a diverse group of 14 organisations including charities, civic societies, trade unions, researchers and campaigners. Many have already been campaigning for better toilet provision, raising awareness, and working on solutions. Together, they are now calling with one voice for urgent improvements.
The Alliance says that London is in desperate need of better public toilet provision to improve the quality of life for the capital’s residents, workers and visitors. Alliance members believe that adequate toilet provision is both a fundamental right and a crucial public health matter.
Research shows that one in five people say they are unable to go out as often as they would like because of concerns around a lack of public toilets. The situation, sometimes referred to as the “loo leash”, has a particularly stark impact on elderly and disabled Londoners, as well as those living with health conditions like bowel disease, and workers whose jobs mean it can be a struggle to find a nearby loo.
The Alliance aims to persuade those in London with the power to improve provision, whether regional or local government, businesses, transport operators and others, that they can and should act. The improvements they want to see are not just about an increase in the number of toilets, but also the accessibility of toilets, better design, cleanliness, opening hours, maintenance, signage, and information for the public.
The number of public toilets has decreased dramatically in London, and around the country, in recent decades. The decline has accelerated in the past few years due mainly to budget cuts and the pandemic, and public toilets in some London boroughs are on course to be extinct by 2028.
Some 91.3% of Londoners do not feel toilet provision is adequate to meet their needs, while Age UK London’s own research conducted with older Londoners found that nine in ten have considered the availability of toilets before making a journey and, that over half, have sometimes reduced the amount they drink before going out – running the risk of dehydration and UTIs.
John McGeachy, Coordinator of the London Loo Alliance said, “This alliance of organisations, representing a diverse group of people in London, shows the strength of feeling that there is about this issue and the numerous ways that people are affected. Access to a public toilets, is a basic human need.
“This new coalition will be working very hard to ensure that not finding a toilet in London, especially one that is clean and maintained, becomes a thing of the past.”
The 14 London Loo Alliance members are ACORN, Age UK London, Bloody Good Period, British Toilet Association, Communication Workers Union, Crohn’s & Colitis UK, Greater London Forum for Older People, The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design (Royal College of Art), Inclusion London, Kilburn Older Voices Exchange, The London Society, Royal Society for Public Health, Soho Neighbourhood Forum and The Toilet Manifesto for London Group.
