Southwark Council’s Health and Social Care Scrutiny Committee have recently had a meeting with ‘Loos for Southwark’ Campaigners and members of the Age UK charity to discuss a new strategy to implement new public toilets after only recently obtaining planning permission, a long ten year wait since the issue has first been raised by the public. The meeting took place on the 15th November where the council discussed promising future plans for the streets of Southwark, in particular, Rye Lane in Peckham.

In the meeting, campaigners for Loos for Southwark presented what they would like to see that would benefit residents of Southwark and a list of priorities including developing an overall public toilet strategy, providing information to the public (signs, maps etc), provision in parks, identifying a councillor as ‘toilet champion’, and improving the provision of accessible toilets.

Age UK London campaign manager and ambassador John McGeachy stressed that “loos are vital” and that an action plan would improve public health and make communities more welcoming. He also makes the point that it would help tackle social isolation and potentially boost the local economy and businesses.

The Southwark Council confirmed a number of points to develop a sustainable action plan:

• Keeping the toilets free (but also maintained properly)
• Importance of cleanliness
• Sanitary bins (for both sexes)
• Community Toilets
• Toilets within Peckham Rye Station

The meeting also covered the need for Changing Places Toilets: large accessible loos that include specialist equipment such as hoists and adult sized changing benches making Southwark more safe and inclusive for people that require more personal care.

Southwark only has 33 public toilets across the entire borough. Locals are still campaigning for hygiene stations especially on the high streets in Peckham Town Centre despite a long era of demands and promises. The council is urged to take inspiration from other areas such as Lewisham where they are beginning to conduct more engagement with businesses and provision of information and support for locals.

Eileen Conn, a local Peckham resident of 50 years, community activist and founder of Peckham vision talks about how the lack of public toilets are a real issue for everyone, especially for the more vulnerable members of the community. “People have no other option than to go to the loo on the street, I’ve seen parents hold their children over gutters, I don’t think that’s a really good way to bring up children” she explains. “I’ve seen men urinating constantly in certain places, making life intolerable for people living on the streets.”

It is no doubt that access to hygiene facilities is crucial to a borough in the city centre with so much going on, but can sometimes be overlooked. With the list of plans set by the Age UK, it is likely that we will finally see the Southwark council implement these new strategies and toilets soon, resulting in a cleaner, safer borough.