More of Brighton & Hove’s public toilets will be open year-round as part of ongoing changes to the service.
The council’s City Environment, South Downs & The Sea Committee will next week be given an update on public toilets. This will include plans to open the toilets at Black Rock, Greenleas, and Hollingbury Park, which currently close for the winter, for all 12 months of the year.
The committee will be told the move to reopen the three toilets year-round is being made possible thanks to a change in shift patterns for our public toilet cleansing operatives.
Currently, the council operates two shifts in during the summer and relies heavily on seasonal staff. These positions are difficult to fill, and the service consistently carries vacancies during the peak season.
This means that toilets are sometimes opened late or closed early due to staff shortages, causing understandable frustration for residents and visitors.
They’ll now work a single shift pattern, reducing the reliance on seasonal staff. This will lead to a more reliable regime of opening, cleansing and closing.
The move to a ‘single shift’ means that some opening hours will change.
In reality, many of the toilets will be open before the listed times. For example, the shifts for the toilets in parks will start at 8am, with operatives going out to each site and opening them in sequence.
The last site will be open by 10am, and so to avoid disappointment the advertised times will be based on the last site to be opened.
Toilet opening will be prioritised when events are planned, such as a regular Parkruns. So, the four council operated toilets that serve parks/seafront areas with Parkrun events will be open by 8.45am.
Picture: The Greenleas toilets
Councillor Tim Rowkins, chair of the City Environment, South Downs & The Sea Committee said: “Although public toilets are not a statutory service, we believe they are essential for our residents and visitors and so we have prioritised keeping them all open.
“The new approach will mean a more reliable service, and I’m very pleased that three sites that currently close for winter will now be open year-round.
“We’re also prioritising popular events like Parkrun to ensure toilets are open for people taking part.”
The report will also update councillors on work being done to reopen the toilets in Royal Pavilion Garden.
The toilets have been closed since October 2022 due their condition and high levels of antisocial behaviour.
They’re due to be redesigned and refurbished with funding from a successful bid to the National Heritage Lottery Fund (NHLF).
In the meantime, £120,000 has been allocated to support reopening the toilets as soon as possible until the NHLF work is ready to begin. This includes recruiting a permanent attendant to keep them clean and a security presence to ensure the safety of the public and our staff.
Finally, the report details work that’s been done or is underway to improve public toilets in the city.
Last year, four public toilet sites were refurbished as part of phase 1 of a refurbishment programme.
In January this year, we revealed plans for phase two of the programme, which includes a new café and public toilet facility at the MacLaren Pavilion at The Level.
The toilets at Hove Lagoon are currently being refurbished as part of the Kingsway to the Sea project. This will include toilets in a new Outdoor Sports Hub, replacing the toilets at Western Esplanade.
Work is also progressing with three new Changing Places Toilets, with the support of government funding.
Changing Places Toilets (CPTs), unlike standard accessible toilets, have an adult changing bench, hoist facilities and extra space for carers.
The new CPT in the One Garden at Stanmer Park should be completed in March. The CPTs in Preston Park and St Ann’s Well Gardens are scheduled to open by June.
Councillor Rowkins added: “We’ve made improving public toilets a priority so it’s great to see more facilities being given a much-needed facelift.
“New Changing Places facilities are a lifeline for so many families. We need to make sure our public toilets are accessible for everyone.”
