Almost 100 of the capital’s public toilets have closed over the last ten years, according to new research by Age UK London. John McGeachy, Age UK London’s campaign manager, said: “Public toilets are essential for a civilised and welcoming city. For older people, those with health conditions and many others, the availability of public toilets can determine whether they feel able to leave their homes.
“We’ve known provision has been declining in London and across the country for a long time, but this new report means we have a much clearer picture about the scale of decline. We urge all relevant bodies to take immediate action to address this pressing issue.”.
Age UK London’s research was conducted by sending Freedom of Information requests to all 33 of London’s local councils, though only 30 responded, and some of those that did were not able to provide all the requested information. The data revealed that, within 25 of those boroughs which responded to a sufficient level of detail, at least 97 of the public toilets they were responsible for were closed between the financial years 2013/14 and 2023/24.
In at least 14 boroughs, no new public loos were opened at all in that same time-span. About 32 new public toilets were opened however across 11 other boroughs. The report urges councils to draw up bespoke strategies to boost the number of publicly accessible loos in their areas, and for the Government to “fund local authorities sufficiently so that they can achieve good provision of public toilets”.
