I wonder that this could also be a case of discrimination against women in public toilet closures. Access to such facilities are crucial for the significant number of those menstruating, those who are pregnant and those who are peri and post menopausal 🤔
I was just adding the perspective that menstruating women need public loos to change tampons and pads, and pregnant women need access to loos because of the physical nature of being pregnant. It could be an angle for challenges to be made about closures.
As a man who is knocking on a bit in age, I might try and argue that having a dodgy prostate and needing to take a leak every time I pass a Coffee Shop could be an angle for a challenge. 😆 I do take your point however. 😉
I've argued time and time again that the way to reinvigorate this country is to fund councils properly again. They're responsible for so many vital services, but they're also responsible for the vitality of a town or region.
I don’t know what the funding model looks like, but there is a general willingness (and mostly enforced obligation) to pay to use a toilet in Germany. Even in restaurants and department stores there is usually a person cleaning and taking 50c from customers.
It’s a mindset that took a while for me to accept. A paid-for trip to the loo usually means a cleaner experience than a free one. And these City Toilets, through they modern box design are positively sparkling, so I am more than happy to pay 50c to use them.
They are dotted all over town, especially in parks where people gather in the summer, but also in the built-up area. A god-send for me on long training runs :)
Most businesses that were participating obviously closed them for the duration, and many never returned. Companies that have stopped trading or at least left the scheme have not (to my knowledge) been replaced.
The problem is, they’re not just “short term budget cuts.”
Government is significantly cutting council budgets, even more so now, with Labour wanting them to become unsustainable, to force them to become combined authorities with mayors.
Devolution is a scam, it’s the removal of local services
Decriminalised parking allowed for mass revenue raising & many restrictions were deliberately confusing (or not even legal) but that didn't stop authorities using them as cash cows.
As parking drove away shoppers/tourists business rate income fell, charity shops filled empty retail premises
Signing had (by law) to meet SoS standards to give effect to traffic regulation orders - many didn't.
+ authorities knew 999 of 1k paid up and if 1 challenged the ticket - they just cancelled it - no one noticed the deliberate 'criminal' acts they carried out
Police parking controls were never about ticket numbers, income went to Magistrates Courts (central gov). It was about vehicle turnover, increasing footfall, supporting local communities and businesses.
But they couldn't ignore the revenue they could make from it so LGO's drove the demand
And the death of town centres was a result of the first onion ring ticket numbers falling, new rings created, and on and on until finally, the outer rings prohibited parking in RESIDENTIAL areas, crippling local residents / families.
Private enforcement firms were created, there was no court to go to, waste land was often 'commandeered' by the parking pirates who issued tickets whether infringements happened or not.
There are many different conditions that mean people won’t be able to leave their own homes because they no longer have access to public toilets. If we’re no longer able to even afford to keep toilets open can we also drop the ‘Great’ from Britain.
I live partly in rural France. Hole in the grounds have gone. Every local village has toilets. My local village has 3. In the Uk place I live we have 1 filthy old toilet block. It's disgusting we can't maintain these essential part of our lives. We all need them. Where else do we go? The street?
Comments
https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/archive/collections/photographs/spending-a-penny/#:~:text=Many%20public%20lavatories%20were%20built,the%20view%20of%20sensitive%20Victorians.
https://www.richmond.gov.uk/toilets#:~:text=Community%20Toilet%20Scheme,buy%20anything%20from%20the%20business.
And the signage is bad if any at all
Government is significantly cutting council budgets, even more so now, with Labour wanting them to become unsustainable, to force them to become combined authorities with mayors.
Devolution is a scam, it’s the removal of local services
Then made it a 'criminal' offence to urinate in a public place.
Banned parking in town centres + put de-criminalised restrictions in onion rings around town centres.
Footfall fell, shops closed, parking restriction sizes grew
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'They' expect you to go and pay for services at retail/eating/drinking outlets
Could we publish this as a letter to the editor, in response to our article? 🙏
If yes, please email our editor, Anna:
[email protected]
Reality - the local authority holds details of all the payments / tickets issued and can simply refund - but they don't.
Again, they know out of the thousands of tickets only a few will claim.
Money money money
https://groups.io/g/London-Transport/topic/exeter_council_parking_chief/49071568
The public are unaware of the history and LA's use ignorance to secure payments.
Same as private land parking which can be linked to other systems of taking cash.
As parking drove away shoppers/tourists business rate income fell, charity shops filled empty retail premises
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+ authorities knew 999 of 1k paid up and if 1 challenged the ticket - they just cancelled it - no one noticed the deliberate 'criminal' acts they carried out
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But they couldn't ignore the revenue they could make from it so LGO's drove the demand
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Then private land parking controls started.
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When that income slipped, a new 'con' was created
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