11 public toilets across Brighton and Hove will start charging for entry. The 30p fee accepted by the council’s Policy, Resources and Growth Committee on Thursday 11 October.
Councillors voted seven to three in favour of the 30p charge and for City Environmental Management to pay up to £550,000 towards refurbishment costs. The fees are due to a contract between the council and a company called Healthmatic.
The eleven sites are Royal Pavilion Gardens, Black Rock, Goldstone Villas, Hove Lagoon, the King Alfred, King’s Esplanade, Lower Promenade East, Lower Promenade West, Peter Pan’s Playground, the Royal Pavilion Gardens, the Colonnade and Western Esplanade. The public already have to pay to use the toilets at the West Pier Arches.
The toilets in the Royal Pavilion Gardens, in Brighton, are due to benefit first from the income stream.
Labour councillor Gill Mitchell, who chairs the council’s Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee, said: “This is a good way of putting the service on a sustainable footing.
“It will enable us to gain income through charging for 11 toilets.”
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We approve of the council’s decision to start charging fees for the toilets. Understandably this is a sore spot with some members of the public, who believe that public toilets should be completely open access. However, funding public toilets is a severe struggle for local councils, and it is often neglected in favour of more immediately important options.
In order to provide public toilets, some sort of funding is necessary! Many train stations and other areas which have fee-paying toilets install machines which can produce change from notes, so that the public don’t need to worry about that element of it.
Our toilet turnstiles are built from graded stainless steel, for easier cleaning and maintenance, and also come equipped with lockable lids to prevent unwanted access. Furthermore, the separate coin box offers very versatile mounting options, as it can be installed either in front of the turnstile, at the side or alternatively, on the wall, with the cash box at the rear.
The turnstile’s coin mechanism can be programmed for virtually any combination of coins with a secure cash box to hold them, while the additional counters for the number of entries made will enable a thorough level of control over the system’s operation, and a useful audit trail.
They need no routine maintenance and come with a 2-year warranty.