Top award for Shropshire pubs toilets
A Shropshire pub has won acclaim for the quality and standards of its toilets – in the Loo of the Year Awards 2021.
The Jewel of the Severn on Bridgnorth's High Street, has been awarded a platinum rating by toilet inspectors. The awards are aimed at highlighting and improving standards of 'away from home' toilet provision across the UK.
The Jewel of the Severn, a Wetherspoon pub, is managed by Richard Peters.
Richard said: "We are delighted with the award. Staff at the pub ensure the toilets are in excellent condition at all times and it is great that this has been recognised by the inspectors."
The Loo of the Year Awards 2021 managing director, Becky Wall, added: toilets at The Jewel of the Severn have been designed and fitted out to a very high standard and are both clean and well maintained.
"The pub deserves its platinum award."
Loo of the Year Awards inspectors make unannounced visits to thousands of toilets at sites across the UK in order to judge them.
All of the toilets are graded silver, gold, platinum or diamond with unacceptable toilets not graded at all.
So what are the secrets to a platinum loo? According to the Loo of the Year chiefs good overall toilet design provides an 'attractive, efficient and economical environment'. There are benefits to having access to clean and efficient facilities, while the people who maintain the toilets cut down on costs and down time if the toilets are well laid out to begin with. Designing conveniences with the utmost attention to detail, with smooth surfaces and little or no cracks or crevices in the toilet area make them easier to keep clean.
In addition having the surfaces resistant to graffiti by using tiles or stippled walls is a plus as it further reduces the need for time wasted on cleaning, and having them well-built and durable so they stand up to potential attacks from vandals.
The Loo of the Year Awards also take into account the finer details of what are known as Toilet Ratios. Data from British Standards shows that the optimal ratio of hand basin to urinal is one to five, whereas there should ideally be one hand basin for each one sit-down loo.
A wait of more than two minutes for use of a toilet is considered unacceptable. The ideal toilet paper, according to Loo of the Year, is 'larger twin tissue 900 sheet rolls in two ply tissue, with no cardboard core'. The reasoning is that these require less labour to replace, and result in less floor litter.
They also take into account the minimum amount of space required for gents to safely use a 'trough' urinal, optimal cubicle size, and the gender split. Roughly one toilet cubicle should be provided per 550 women, or one cubicle or urinal per 1,100 men.
The toilets are judged all of these myriad criteria, including décor and maintenance, cleanliness, accessibility, hand washing and drying equipment and overall management.
