Lack of toilets leaving elderly people 'in tears'

There is a lack of public toilets across Bath city centre, a council meeting was told

A lack of public toilets in a city has left elderly people in tears and pushed customers away from local businesses, councillors have heard.

Bath and North East Somerset Council has unanimously backed a call to review the "very few and far between" public toilet provision in the area.

Local tour guide Ed Browning told a council meeting: "The one constant negative is the embarrassment of apologising for the lack of public facilities."

But senior councillors have warned it will be a "huge challenge" to improve the situation.

Mr Browning, whose family also run the delicatessen in the Guildhall Market, told the meeting on on 17 July he had seen elderly people reduced to tears after not being able to reach the toilet in time.

"Aside from 'what's a scotch egg?', the most consistent question I get on a daily basis is 'where are the toilets?'," he said.

'Significant' vandalism

Councillors were voting over a motion tabled by Robin Moss, the leader of the Labour opposition on the council, to assess the need for public toilets and "prioritise better provision of clean, accessible public toilets" across Bath and North East Somerset.

Independent councillor Shaun Hughes, who represents Midsomer Norton, said the lack of public toilets there was one of the issues most commonly raised with him by the public.

He said: "We know this affects footfall in our town, but more importantly excludes large sections of our community. It undermines dignity. It makes our town less accessible."

The council's cabinet member for economic and cultural sustainable development Paul Roper seconded the motion which he said was already something under review and being prioritised.

But he warned: "We will face a huge challenge on providing the necessary funding to significantly improve and increase the current provisions."

He added: "The issues we face are not just about funding. I cannot overstate the significance of vandalism and anti-social behaviour.

"Our existing facilities are subject to significant vandalism and in some cases within a matter of hours of being repaired they are shut again."