A group of local campaigners are asking for more public toilets in Southwark, with one woman saying there are so few she often can’t go out for longer than an hour.
This follows the council’s decision to vote against devising a ‘public toilet strategy’ when asked at last month’s council assembly.
The motion, put forward by Liberal Democrat Cllr Rachel Bentley, also asked for there to be ‘a named designated officer responsible for its delivery.’
Now, the Loos for Southwark campaign, made up of mainly pensioners in the borough, is demanding action.
Thelma Purcell, a pensioner from Rotherhithe, told us she joined the campaign because the lack of loos is restricting her daily.
“I drink about a litre of water in the mornings when I wake up,” she told us, “so I have to plan any events, activities, and appointments to ensure that I have access to a toilet.”
“Journeys cannot be longer than an hour.
Currently, there are 44 public toilets in Southwark – including 33 maintained by the council, but the group maintain there are not enough.
Thelma commented: “The lack of public toilets for me and others like me, restricts what we can do and how far we can travel without loo provision.”
She explained that to avoid needing the toilet when out, she would avoid drinking water and then be dehydrated – an experience shared by many others.
According to research conducted by Age UK London last year (2022), 90 per cent of Londoners have considered public toilet provision before making a journey and over 52 per cent said they sometimes reduce the amount they drink before leaving home.
Following the decision, which campaigners said was ‘disappointing’ – the group asked to meet with the council to put forward their case and they agreed.
The main ask of the group is that the council set up a Community Toilet Scheme – whereby businesses sign up granting public access to the toilets in their buildings within chosen times.
As well as increasing the number of available toilets, this would also limit the cost of new toilets having to be built.
John McGeachy, Campaigns Manager for Age UK said this is not a new idea.
“The council actually started plans for the scheme a few years ago,” he told us.
In fact, the form is still available on their website for businesses to sign up.
John continued: “You’ve got Lewisham next door, which run one of the best community toilet schemes in London – which shows it can work if everyone is on board.”
The scheme is run there by Lewisham Local, a community organisation – and as a result, there are significantly more public toilets available in that borough.
John said they haven’t got any response about implementing this scheme specifically even though it appeared the council already had plans to start one.
We asked the council what happened to these plans, and why they were abandoned, but they did not respond.
He added that in January they are meeting with the Cabinet Officer for Health and Wellbeing, Cllr Evelyn Akoto, to continue discussing the borough’s toilet provision.
Thelma commented: “We want to see a joined-up approach across all the London Boroughs including the City of London.
Asked what this will mean for residents if no plan is decided, she said it will discourage people from leaving the house – “we either stay at home and our mental and physical health deteriorates or we don’t drink enough and suffer from dehydration.”
In addition to the toilets on the map, there are also four additional toilets – at Peckham Rye, Denmark Hill, Waterloo and Elephant and Castle (Rail) Station.
Liberal Democrat Cllr Rachel Bentley commented: “Everyone deserves readily available public toilets, but I’m especially concerned for pregnant women, the elderly, and people with prostate issues.
We submitted this motion in good faith and expected it to pass on a cross-party basis. Whilst I’m pleased the commitment to re-starting the Community Toilets Scheme will be retained, I’m extremely disappointed that the key ask of a toilets strategy has been rejected. Nevertheless, it has strengthened our resolve to continue this campaign through other avenues in the town hall.”