Council to engage local communities on how to best manage public toilets

The Council has conducted a review of the public toilets that are owned and managed by the Council. As part of this review, the availability of other nearby public toilets was also considered. The review highlighted that some facilities are underused and the cost of running certain facilities is extremely high. In some locations, it can cost the taxpayer as much as £11.06 every time someone uses the toilet. Overall, the cost of managing the public toilets in the district amounts to around £270,000 per year despite a 20p charge for use. 

The Council will be engaging local town and parish councils over the coming months on whether they would like to take on facilities to run them on behalf of their communities. Well used toilets will be kept open regardless of whether the town and parish councils want to take them on.  

Some toilets may be proposed to close should the local councils not wish to run them. These toilets are either used infrequently or are in places where there are other facilities available.  

Councillor Lidia Arciszewska, Executive Member for Environment, said: “With change coming to local government we want to have conversations with our parish and town council colleagues on how we best protect and manage the service in the future.  

“We want to make sure that well-used toilets remain open and provide a highest standard service. At the same time, we need to decide if managing the least used facilities is justifiable considering the cost to the taxpayer – the money which could be diverted to other local services. 

“We have not made any final decisions yet and will only do so once we have engaged with local town and parish councils.” 

West Oxfordshire District Council operates 13 public toilets across the district, in nine towns and villages. A charge of 20p is applied at all sites. 

The proposals would see seven facilities in places like Witney, Burford, Bampton, Chipping Norton, Woodstock and Kilkenny Country Park continue to be prioritised and run by the council, unless the local town or parish councils wish to take them on. 

Two public toilets, in Charlbury and Chipping Norton, are leased and it is proposed to surrender those leases. In Chipping Norton another toilet facility will remain, and in Charlbury usage is low with alternatives available. Four other sites are underused or in poor condition, and without transfer agreements, closure may be considered. These include facilities in Witney, Woodstock, Eynsham and Carterton, which together cost over £130,000 a year to maintain and would need significant investment. 

Once local councils have been consulted, a report will be brought back to the council Executive with final recommendations for which toilets should continue to be managed by West Oxfordshire Council, which should be transferred to parish or town councils and which should be closed.