Businesses reject proposals to allow public to use loos
Graham Kenny was unhappy at the citys community toilets scheme
Proposals to get pubs and shops in Edinburgh to throw their toilet doors open to members of the public are set to be dropped after being given short shrift by businesses.
The city council had wanted to introduce a new “community toilets” scheme, offering incentives for businesses that are happy for members of the public to use their facilities.
But the proposals, which were investigated at the same time as the council proposed closing half of its 30 public toilets, are now set to be dropped after businesses showed little willingness to co-operate.
City leaders have instead managed to find an extra £300,000 to review the original closure plan and may now manage to keep all 30 toilets open, while a separate £127,000 refurbishment programme is also in the pipeline.
Council leader Jenny Dawe said: “We will start in the city centre and work out the way but £300,000 will go a long way to ensuring we maintain and refurbish the public conveniences we have.
“There has been talk of trying to encourage shops and bars to make their facilities available and that works well in some areas, but it has not worked well in Edinburgh.”
The London districts of Richmond and Lambeth operate community toilet initiatives that could have provided a model for any Edinburgh scheme.
In Richmond, 70 businesses take part in a scheme where their toilets were advertised as being available to the public in return for being paid £600 a year by the council, while Lambeth’s scheme offers an incentive of £1000 a year.
Council chiefs had hoped that a similar scheme – likely to involve a reduction in a business rates in return for making facilities available – could have worked in Edinburgh as the businesses would benefit from increased footfall that could lead to increased sales.
The move has been resisted by businesses.
Graham Kenny, owner of Has Beans in the Royal Mile, said: “We do not knock anyone away and if someone asks for the toilet they get it, or if they ask for a glass of water they get it. What we didn’t like was it would advertise that we were toilets and not a cafe or food and beverage outlet. It was not going to help us.”
Pub leaders say the proposal conflicted with new regulations that meant pubs needed one toilet for roughly every 30 customers.
Patrick Browne, chief executive of the Scottish Beer and Pub Association, said: “There have been a lot of issues with the licensing board about toilet provision. Members of the public could come in and that could impact on capacity, so they could have had to turn people away.
“It may be that the board shot down the council’s own proposal. It’s an example of not very joined-up thinking.”
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Comments
There are 23 comments to this article
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Afredo Garcia
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 12:05 PMThere used to be a bylaw in London #3 whereby if a gentleman was caught short could approach a polis and ask that his embarassment be covered with a cape. Not sure how that would work for the ladies. I suppose it would be both logical and just for councillors and staff who came up with the open loos idea to set an example and advertise this service at their homes.
Jools in Edinburgh
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 11:25 PM#20 Yes, have to agree. The SNPUnionist threads are a bit like trying to have a debate with a roomful of Schizophrenics.
Tartancult
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 06:46 PMThere is an article elsewhere in this comic which compares Scotland to 'third world countries'. This story simply underscores that fact.
Belle du Jeer
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 04:45 PM19 - sadly, you are right. This site used to be a free-for-all funfest, with sometimes hundreds of comments on the big stories. This new version seems to have killed all that. The only threads with such hugh traffic now are the SNP trolls versus Unionistas, which are simply too tedious to participate in.
Mario Antoinette
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 04:39 PMI would pay to use a toilet but the business model of paying to access a pretendy news site is a no go.
Belle du Jeer
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 04:33 PM13 - Mario, by your logic, paying to use this site to relieve ourselves of moans would also deter "funny fellows". I thought we had you to chase off the likes of Paul Voltaire?
Mario Antoinette
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 04:30 PMI never critizise spelling.
Mario Antoinette
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 04:30 PMPatrick is clutching at straws. How did this Muppeteer become a Pub Leader?
Belle du Jeer
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 04:29 PMAhem, I've just realised that I misspelled Mario as Matio. Poor typing followed by no proofreading. Maybe mupets was just two identical typos. Apologies all round.
Mario Antoinette
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 04:27 PMTalking of joined up thinking, Pub Leaders are suggesting that their boozers will get so chock a block with people emptying themslves for free, that there wont be room for customers. This is a bizarre scenario, becuase the toileteers will simply go away after they have shed their waste. Surely they wont hang about.
Mario Antoinette
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 04:22 PMJust ridiculous. In most european countries you have to pay to use toilets in bars, cafes and even public ones. I suppose the good thing about that is you dont get funny fellows in them.
Mario Antoinette
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 04:20 PMSpelt muppets rong twice.
Belle du Jeer
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 04:09 PM9 - without wishing to appear nit-picking, how is it that you can spell financial mismanagement correctly and not muppets?
Belle du Jeer
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 04:05 PM8 - you have a point, Matio, but where else is there to let off steam with a good old fashioned moan? Personally, I would make it a condition of every tartan tat shop licence that they allow the public free access to their loos. That way, even the most incontinent of shoppers should be able to make it down The Royal Mile with dry underwear.
Snoopy1
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 03:56 PMAs i have stated in the past this is just one of the reason that any rightminded person should be voting out at the elections in May this bunch of clowns that call themself councilors,Stevie Boy Cardownie,Jenny Daw,and her bunch of mupets,they have made Edinburgh a laughing stock,with there c--kups, and financial mismanagement. I hope and pray that the voters give this bunch of mupets there P45s in May.
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