London Loos

Age UK London

One in five people don’t leave their homes as much as they would like because of a lack of loos – this has a huge impact on quality-of-life. Everyone benefits from good public toilet provision and some, such as those recovering from certain cancers, benefit even more than others. The campaign has already shone a light on the desperate situation by publishing the views of 600 older Londoners and hosted a conference bringing councils together to learn from each other about effective solutions. Most importantly the campaign has meant older Londoners have persuaded Merton Council to launch a Community Toilet Scheme (CTS); Haringey Council to develop a public toilets strategy; Southwark Council to explore a new CTS; Islington Council to publish paper maps of loo locations with maps available in all libraries; and contributed to TfL announcing a £12m investment in more toilets. We are looking for funding to develop a new grassroots campaign group, undertake quantitative research to better understand what all 33 London local authorities are doing (or not doing) to improve provision, publish a campaign toolkit for anyone wishing to campaign locally, and bring health organisations and community groups together to campaign for strategic London wide action.