500 signatures reached
To: Bristol City Council
Public Toilet Facilities for Bristol City Centre
We the undersigned call for Bristol City Council to build new accessible public toilet facilities in the city centre. Bristol has experienced severe cuts to public toilet facilities in recent years. Those disproportionately effected by the shortage of such facilities are those with disabilities and long-standing health issues. With regards to the latter this particularly effects those with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (such as Crohns Disease and Ulcerative Colitis), Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), along with neurological conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s. This list is not at all exhaustive.
We note the existence of the Community Toilet Scheme (CTS), but find this to be inadequate for several reasons. First and foremost, the number of businesses that have signed up to this scheme in the city centre is limited. The lack of insurance cover provided by the CTS is also an issue. Furthermore, the current public health crisis reveals the need for facilities not reliant upon open businesses to be available to the public.
Why is this important?
From our perspective the provision of accessible public toilet facilities is a basic duty of local government to protect and preserve the human rights of Bristol’s residents and visitors. It is also a question of upholding the public dignity of those who need regular access to such facilities. It is also imperative that these facilities include Changing Places facilities for use for those with profound physical and learning disabilities. It is our hope that Bristol City Council will be able to make use of the £30 million fund the Government established to help local councils provide such facilities last year.
http://www.changing-places.org/the_campaign/what_are_changing_places_toilets_.aspx
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-53448846
https://www.theibsnetwork.org/about-us/
