Letter: Why pay for something you don’t use?
Wednesday 19th January 2011, 1:00PM GMT.
Letter: Residents shouldn’t have to pay increased local taxes (precept) to pay for public toilets – after all, they probably rarely use them.
So what’s the answer, reinstall the old payment machines in toilets which are currently free or pay for supervisors to collect the money?
Both options are probably too expensive.
The suggestion that businesses should allow access to their toilets is fine for the pubs, teashops and restaurants that do so already, but others would have problems if customers wanted to scramble through their stockrooms to the toilet located at the back of their shop.
As public toilets are there mainly for visitors to the towns, and that benefits the local traders, perhaps the traders might like to sponsor them in exchange for advertising space on the walls.
Otherwise, in the name of the Big Society, councillors living near to town centres, such as the Taylor-Smiths, of Ludlow, might set an example and open the doors of their home and toilets as an example of service to the community.
Pat Stokes-Smith
Hope Bowdler
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When I went to Notting Hill carnival a couple of years back, some enterprising locals opened up their homes and charged £1 to use the toilet. Combined with selling cans of lager straight from their fridge, I imagine they did quite well out it.
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I don’t play Golf, but i still have to pay for the up keep of the municiple Golf Course….I think you just need to get over this one.
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Here, here. Perfectly put Spencer.
And if we follow the logic applied, I’m not going to pay for other kids schools (I have none of my own), or for the fire brigade to put out other people’s fires (I’ve never had need of their services), or for other people to have hospital treatment (I’ve never been in hospital).
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those on street machines in paris which charge a euro cost the tax payer nowt, they are profitable, why not have them as you say a communal charge for a private activity is not fair or right and proper at all
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I support the introduction of a cottaging tax to fund the toilets.
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Pathetic statement.
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Squire, dont tell the world all your habits or the fast police car you were criticicing will be after you. Also, not a clever comment to write in a public domain in the first place. tut tut…
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maybe you dont use your local ones, however theres a good chance on a visit to some other town or city you probably will. so it all averages out in the end.
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I think this is the most reasonable response! Church Stretton is a nice place to live and has lots of visitors. You don’t want to seem unfriendly do you?
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“Residents shouldn’t have to pay increased local taxes (precept) to pay for public toilets – after all, they probably rarely use them.”
I hope you don’t use public toilets in other town and cities. Or if you do, I hope you’re prepared to pay for them.
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The toilets in question are most useful. Some Shops in Church Stretton dont have toilet facilities and if you want people to shop and bring economy to the town leave them open. I use them frequently as they are convenient. I have a RADAR key but that particular facility is too far for me to travel too when in Church Stretton so i use the toilets in Easthope Road.
Afterall we all need to go!!! visitor or not!
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This has got to be one of the silliest and most selfish letters to appear on here in a long time. I can only imagine the author thinks we should get rid of libraries, schools and the health service on the basis of the same argument.
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i would rather hold it in, pay for a coffee shop or go in a bush than share a lavatory with the general public
YUK!
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As a member of the general public I think I can speak for us as a whole, we feel the same way about sharing a lavatory with you.
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Our household pays substantially more than £1,000 a year for a wide variety of services – many of which we don’t use, but are nonetheless expected to subsidise. Public toilets are a good idea but in Europe they are usually payable and people don’t seem to find this unacceptable (even most service station toilets are payable). I have no objection to seeing a big decrease in my council tax and then paying for the services I actually use on a pay as you use basis. THAT policy would make councils perk up how they collect and allocate money.
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Nice thought – however you will probably be extremely disappointed to find that you wouldn’t be able to afford the services you actually need if you had to pay for them individually. How would you suggest paying for services such as – I don’t know, Environmental health which ensures your personal safety or maybe, Trading Standards which means you don’t get fleeced. “Oh – I didn’t get ripped off today, I think I’ll pay some money for Trading Standards Services” – probably not the best idea really.
May I respectfully suggest you may want to consider paying a little more for education…
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I ensure my personal safety no one else, I don’t get ripped off through my own common sense and I don’t use the education serice. For my council tax I literally just get my bins emptied (when they show up!) so I agree with Rob, why am I paying for everything else? I’m pretty confident that on a pay as you use basis my council tax would more than half. The council don’t do anything for me so why should I pay them for doing nothing? They wouldn’t even advise me when I was made homeless through no fault of my own, oh hang on yes they did, I was advised to get pregnant to be classified as homeless!
As Del Boy once said when asked why he didn’t pay any taxes ‘the government don’t give us nuffin so we don’t give the government nuffin!’ He had the right idea!
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“I ensure my personal safety no one else, I don’t get ripped off through my own common sense and I don’t use the education service”.
Clearly! I presume therefore that you live an existence as a hermit? You obviously don’t travel anywhere on the roads or by foot (Highways Maintenance) you obviously don’t eat out at restaurants etc. (Environmental Health), you obviously don’t live in a house or visit any other buildings safely (Planning / Building regulations).
You have stated that you don’t use education so I have to assume you didn’t use the education service – I’ll give you that one. Though I wouldn’t try to use any services such as the NHS as the doctors there do have to be educated and their education up until they go to uni has to be paid by someone.
You obviously never have a need for the police and can predict the future so won’t need that element of the council tax. What happens if you have a fire – who are you going to call??
Social services? You may not need them but they will certainly have an impact on the way you live and the social environment around you.
And that is just a small selection of what the council does – and it all impacts on you and all has to be paid for.
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How Freddie? Tell me how exactly as a 32 year old single woman with no children who has never had a driving misdemeanor and has never been poisoned by a restaurant of my choice regardless of ENV. Health’s view of it whose private landlord ensures the safety of the property I rent and who keeps herself in good health never visiting the doctor, who doesn’t have fires because I’m all electric and check for fire hazards and who has never in 32 years had a use for the police (by the way council tax itself does not pay for policing and fire service – check your bill) and who will never have a need for social services as I do not intend abusing any kids, tell me again exactly how all these departments contribute to my life? I’m dying to find out!
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You would say that being a bloke, Rob.
Experience has shown that by charging for public conveniences chaps will then conveniently use a corner or passageway somewhere creating a smelly health hazard.
Ladies however, for whom using a toilet is not such a quick simple operation are often to be seen in massive queues at large events, never having enough toilets provided paying or otherwise.
When my other half and I were at Theatre Severn recently he was embarrassed by a woman rushing out of the mens cubicles just as he was going to use the urinal followed by several more ladies with their little daughters out of all the other cubicles!
Obviously the ridiculously constrained build site of the theatre did not allow for sufficient provision for ladies toilets (or for all seats to have a view of the stage) but these women rushing so not to miss the matinee could have had the common sense to leave the cubicle doors open being as they were actually in the mens toilets!
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I agree with the posters above – what a selfish person!
Plenty of people, local or otherwise, need to use public toilets, especially those with small children in buggies, or wheelchair users, who can’t always be popping in and out of cafes etc just to use the loos.
Hypothecated taxes are a slippery slope that lead to a bad place.
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This letter writer needs to go and sit in a corner .
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We all wish you would too!
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actually im torn because i GENERALLY agree public toilets are no longer neccessary but ive actually used this a couple of times when caught short, i think church stretton is an exceptional case because its so outdoorsy, you often dont have anywhere open too because its so old fashioned town with nothing open and if you’ve been on the long mynd all day you got to go you got to go
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Why are public toilets no longer necessary?
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Why pay for something, public toilets, that the local residents will probably never use?
Well I suppose if you prefer not to provide public toilets in your area I will just have to use the streets instead. Why provide care for the elderly or education, I do not need them so that is all right then.
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I haven’t used the crem yet but when that day comes ———–;)
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In the twenty first century, the existence of public toilets is both unnecessary and outdated. If their provision is deemed to be a necessity (and in my view this is one facility we can well do without) then they need to be provided on a fee paying basis and staffed with attendants. How many of us have found ourselves or our children taken short? Not in my experience. And can any of us honestly say that we would want to go anywhere near a public toilet? They are, usually, filthy dirty, smelly, soaking wet, missing fixtures and fittings, graffitti ridden and can, in some cases, attract undesirables. Close them down and bulldoze the lot of them.
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I don’t understand this line of reasoning, what happened over the last 50 or 60 years that we evolved to public conveniences being unnecessary and outdated, our bladders are bigger or stronger? or perhaps we pee less?
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Well it’s the big society now, how about YOU VOLUNTEER to man the toilets and keep them clean?
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Clean public toilets are like nice flowerbeds, public clocks that work properly and clean benches to sit down – signs of a pleasant welcoming civilised place. It’s what you’d expect to find as a matter of course in German towns and cities. Why not here?
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Is that why the public toilet in the picture looks like a cottage?
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it is the same principle as insurance. it is there to be used whenever. try not to take such a selfish view on life, you may come to enjoy it
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So when the coach loads of tourists arrive in the summer and spend their hard earned dollar in your town you wont mind them squatting behind the nearest hedge then?
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