Soho Residents and Businesses Highlight Public Toilet Shortage Concerns

A neighbourhood forum comprising Soho residents and businesses asserts that the area requires additional public toilet facilities, projecting that the economic benefits would considerably surpass the associated expenses. A report published by The Soho Neighbourhood Forum indicates that Soho has experienced a 70% decrease in public toilet cubicles and urinals over the last 15 years. According to the “Caught Short” report, 77% of businesses and 64% of visitors have personally observed individuals urinating in Soho’s streets. Westminster City Council announced an investment of £12.7m for an “extensive refurbishment of our eight West End public toilets”. The council also stated it is allocating over £1.8m towards the upgrade and replacement of urinals and automatic public conveniences. Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, cabinet member for city management and air quality, commented: “We know that street urination continues to be a problem in busy areas of town like Soho.” He added: “This is completely unacceptable, and residents and businesses should not have to put up with it.” The report from the neighbourhood forum revealed that 27% of visitors would refrain from visiting the West End due to insufficient public toilets, and 80% of the 151 Soho businesses surveyed reported that this situation was harming the area’s reputation. The report estimated annual cleaning costs for Soho businesses at £300,000 due to the mess, but suggested that resolving the public toilet problem could generate an additional £4.9m in annual revenue for the area. Lucy Haine, chair of The Soho Neighbourhood Forum, stated that the scarcity of public toilets amounted to “effectively telling millions of people that they shouldn’t visit for fear of not being able to find a loo in time”. She further explained: “There are three key elements behind our belief that Soho really needs to up its game in terms of public toilet accessibility – discrimination, reputation, and lost income.” The forum identified the elderly, women, and millions of individuals categorized as “urgent WC users” as those most affected by the absence of public toilets, as they must plan their travel routes according to the availability of public facilities. This results in businesses losing patronage when these individuals opt to go elsewhere. The report asserts that only three permanent public toilet facilities are presently available for use within the area. These include the toilets located at the corner of Carnaby and Great Marlborough Streets, which operate solely during daylight hours, are situated underground, and are not universally accessible. Additionally, there is one automatic public convenience on Broadwick Street and a single “butterfly” urinal on the north side of Soho Square Gardens, both of which are open only until 6pm daily. The report highlighted that the issue becomes most severe in the evenings, with an estimated 73,000 visitors in the area between 6-9pm. It indicated that Soho would require a minimum of 19 urinals and 58 cubicles to meet basic needs. Even with the existing permanent urinals and 10 chemical toilets, a deficit of 47 cubicles persists. Soho’s current permanent provision of public toilets is inadequate when compared to other cities. Paris, for instance, offers 18 public toilets per 100,000 population, whereas Soho provides only three, based on its peak population of 100,000. An unnamed London Assembly member, quoted in the report, stated: “The lack of toilet provision is an indictment on society. No one is going to urinate or defecate in the street unless they have no alternative.” Councillor Dimoldenberg affirmed that ensuring Westminster’s streets are clean and safe is the council’s primary concern, and he would “look carefully” at the report, which he received positively. He stated: “Our city inspectors and street cleaning teams run a 24/7 service to deal with problems like street urination and defecation as quickly as possible.“ He added: “We also provide a network of temporary toilets in the West End at weekends and during major events to address the increase in demand for toilets during busier times.”