Coventry campaigners call for better loos as visitors avoid city centre

A Coventry campaign group is calling for better toilet provisions and signage in the city centre.

The Need the Loo team will be putting up their own signs in Broadgate today (29 April) to show people where the nearest toilet is.

It’s after their listening campaign and local survey last year (2023) revealed a quarter of people limit time spent in the city centre, so they can return home quickly to use their own facilities.

They also found almost a third of respondents limited fluid intake to reduce their need to go to the toilet while on a trip to Coventry city centre, with more than half (55 per cent) saying they avoid using public toilets at all.

One respondent said: “We need more signposts! You don’t know where the toilets are.”

Another shared: “My friend can’t go to the city centre in the evening as the Changing Places toilet will be closed. He feels Coventry is saying he is not welcome.”

The group believe being able to use clean, accessible public toilets, often urgently, is an issue of dignity and safety affecting disabled people, people with long term health conditions, older people, parents with small children, and many more.

They were motivated to act after hearing many different experiences from people who need to access toilets easily and without fuss but are struggling to do so in Coventry city centre with the current provision.

The wider community is being asked to support the campaign’s aims so everyone can benefit - including local businesses and tourist attractions who want new visitors to feel welcome and able to return to an accessible, inclusive city.

This includes work on the £450 million transformation of the centre of Coventry known as City Centre South.

They have received some support from the council’s Public Health department, including adding an accessible map of toilet provision on the city council’s website.

Grapevine community organiser, Melissa Smith, says they've been working with the local authority to make changes.

She said: "We've had some really good meetings with the Council, in particular Public Health are very keen. It is a public health issue because people are restricting what they drink. Then there's obviously the issue around people not being able to access toilets.

"Public Health have given us some suggestions, as they want us to create a one page document that details what planners or businesses need for standard toilet provisions."

She continued: "People are actually reporting that they're not going to certain areas of the city centre because they don't think there's any toilet there. So it's something as simple as a business saying we've got a toilet you can use."

What do Need The Loo want?

1. Better and more signage about toilets - physical and online.

2. Better maintenance of the existing toilets in the city centre.

3. More toilet provision in the areas of the city centre that are currently lacking.

4. More understanding by businesses of why people may need to use their toilet.

5. Better collaboration to ensure the toilet provision makes Coventry people proud and visitors feel welcomed.

A Coventry City Council spokesperson said: “Coventry fairs well compared to lots of other towns and cities where there are little or no public toilets at all, including in places such as Woking and Hastings.

"There are a number of toilets in our city centre – in shopping centres, shops and restaurants, attractions and Council run toilets in the library. And with pressure on budgets its right that the provision of toilets is a joint effort. The Council toilets in the library are open every day during working hours and they have a member of staff on site to ensure cleansing and maintenance issues can be dealt with. We have also recently secured additional funding to provide additional accessible Changing Places and this includes one set to open in the new Shopmobility on 7 May.

“Once all of the shops are closed, restaurants, bars, cinemas and the theatre, places which attract visitors in the evening, all have their own toilets. And the new Changing Places facility at the railway station is open until the last train leaves in the evening.

“All of the new wayfinding maps that went in recently include the locations of the nearest toilets – so no one should struggle to locate where they are.

"There is also a growing understanding by the BID and businesses of why some people might need to use a toilet facility. The BID is actively trying to work with business partners to bring more awareness about these specific needs."

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