Scarborough businesses are being asked to make their toilets available to the public following concerns over a lack of facilities in the town centre.
As part of the Community Toilet Initiative (CTI), Scarborough Town Council would provide “modest financial support, signage, and inclusion in promotional materials” to cafes, pubs, and shops who voluntarily make their toilet facilities available for public use.
Ice cream parlour owner Sophie Wilkinson said: “I don’t feel the onus should be on us as business owners to provide those facilities for people.”
However the town’s mayor, councillor Thomas Murray, called it a “quick, practical step” to “meet community need”.
A report presented at a full council meeting stated that “such schemes are widely used by town and parish councils to improve access to toilet provision, particularly where there is limited direct control over public conveniences”.
There are some free public toilets available in the town at the Clock Tower and Peasholm Park but the majority of the town’s facilities, such as in West Pier and Vincent Pier, cost 40p to use.
One cafe chef said that the idea could “draw people in” to businesses they might not usually visit.
James Chapman, who works at the Princess Cafe, said: “People might not be looking necessarily to eat straight away, but then you could have a special board or anything and it could draw someone to want something off your menu.”
Katrice Rowe, owner of the Craft Bar, also agreed that the move could be positive.
“I think if it’s voluntary and it’s up to the businesses to allow people to open them up if they want to then yes, I think it is a good idea.”
Wilkinson, who runs Flamingo Bay ice cream parlour, argued that there could be additional wear and tear on her toilets which was not covered by takings.
“It sounds really pedantic, but if that toilet gets blocked or broken or someone has left it in a mess or there are dirty nappies, it then falls on my staff, who I am paying out of my own pocket, to clean it up and that’s not what we’re here for.
“If I have to then call a plumber out, that’s costing me the money to get the plumber to then fix that toilet that somebody who hasn’t been and spent any money in my business has used. It’s a cost to me.”
As part of the CTI, businesses would only have to make their toilets available during their regular opening hours but the town council does accept more public toilets will need to be built in the future.
Murray added: “Larger infrastructure solutions require engagement with North Yorkshire Council and, as many will know, that process rarely moves at lightning speed, so we are acting where we can.
“Scarborough Town Council is looking at realistic, deliverable solutions within our powers, doing what a town council can do, and doing it properly.”
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