Councillors are being asked to consider introducing charges at all council-run public toilets across North Yorkshire as part of a new countywide strategy.
North Yorkshire Council says the proposals are aimed at improving standards, reliability and long-term value for money for both residents and visitors, while helping to protect toilet provision from future closures.
The authority is reviewing how public toilets are funded and managed following local government reorganisation, which brought together facilities previously overseen by several former district councils.
Councillors will be told this has led to 'inconsistencies in opening hours, cleanliness and overall standards' across the county.
Under the proposals, charging would be introduced at all public toilets operated by the council.
Any income generated would be used to help cover cleaning, maintenance and running costs, with the aim of delivering more reliable services and higher standards.
North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for leisure, Cllr Simon Myers, said:
“Our priority is to encourage and support as many people as possible across North Yorkshire to live healthier and more active lifestyles.
“All residents should have fair and equal access to leisure facilities in their area, wherever they live across the county, so that they have the opportunity to improve their physical and mental health and wellbeing.
“A lot of work has been ongoing with our customers to learn what they want from their leisure and wellbeing hubs, and the message coming through loud and clear is that people want the option of having flexible memberships without being tied down to a contract.
“We have taken that on board as we look to introduce a more streamlined and consistent structure across all our sites. These proposals will be carefully considered when members of the executive meet next week.”
On Tuesday next week (3rd February), members of North Yorkshire Council’s executive will consider the recommendations on how the service could be delivered in coming years.
It is currently facing a recurring budget shortfall, and a number of suggestions have been made to help address this.
Working on five principles; support for alternative delivery models, a consistent entry fee policy, a framework to review the network, integration with car park operations and a capital improvement programme, the working group suggests:
- Ensuring that by 2030 all sites are in a good or excellent condition.
- Introducing an entry fee of either 40p or 50p across the county.
- Increasing ticket prices across all off-street parking to fund the operation of toilets close to council-run car parks.
- Exploring alternative funding streams, including honesty boxes, app-based donations, advertising, sponsorship, and community partnerships.
- Considering the closing of sites which are in a poor condition, have low footfall and/or are near to other facilities.
Cllr Foster said:
“Since North Yorkshire Council was created, we’ve been keen to encourage and support more locally delivered services. We’ve already seen some great examples of parish and town councils running public toilets successfully across the county.
“One of our key aims is to offer help to any communities or councils who would like to take on this role, so that these important facilities can continue to be available for everyone.”
The working group has acknowledged the need for improvements to facilities and has suggested enhancements including water bottle refill stations, baby changing facilities and sanitary waste disposal options in male and female spaces.
There is also need for improved signage to promote visibility and environmental initiatives such as greywater recycling, renewable energy generation, and efficient energy use that support the council’s ambition to achieve net-zero carbon neutrality by 2030.
Cllr Foster said:
“Improvements are already underway and visitors to Pickering, for example, will have seen the work that has been completed to the public conveniences at The Ropery.
“Work is also underway at Southlands in Pateley Bridge and is due to start soon in Malton.
"We are determined that we will have facilities that people can be proud of, and the work of the group will help bring that to fruition.”
You can read the full report at item 5 on the executive meeting agenda here.
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