Newquay City Council’s 50p contactless charge for public toilets is proving controversial

People are not happy that public toilets in a tourist town get contactless card machines with an entrance fee of 50 lei. Newquay Town Council is implementing this across all its facilities, starting with the facilities offered by Narrowcliff.

The local council has approved a new hybrid payment system for its endowments. This innovative model will allow people to use both contactless methods and traditional coins in at least one public toilet.

Following a public consultation, the Council decided to keep cash payments for at least one toilet, alongside the new contactless options. This move ensures accessibility for everyone, regardless of their preferred payment method. Here we analyze some of the reactions to this decision.

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CobberK thinks: “This is a big mistake. A large number of elderly people, whose bladder control is not what it used to be, do not use contactless. This is a heartless decision.”

Bufordtjustiche disagrees: “Why not charge? Every loo in Europe charges 50 cents to pee. So who pays to clean up after someone has defecated all over the floor, puked in the sink, or purposely peed all over the floor? This is what happens to most of the public toilets in Cornwall and this does not begin to account for the misuse, damage and vandalism of the toilets by the public – !!! Who pays? Cornwall Council tax payers who are who – raise it to £1.00!!!!!”

Drjodz replies: “Where are these damaged toilets? All the ones I have seen recently have not been damaged and are reasonably clean. (and there are quite a few as I’ve been everywhere recently during my week off) Personally, I don’t think it’s fair to charge people we already pay for these services, and it’s not fair to be charged again. It’s a stupid idea that will only confuse the elderly and prevent unbanked 13- to 16-year-olds from spending a dime.”

Papasmurf agrees: “I do NOT have the technology to make payments other than cash. What should I do?”

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Boscastle writes: “Council charges should cover public amenities. 50p to use a public toilet is outrageous. Most of these toilets are cleaned to a satisfactory standard on a regular basis. They need cleaning several times a day, especially in peak season with sanitizing products, not a quick clean using low level cleaners. “

ThePeople’sChamp agrees: “There I was thinking we pay council tax for the council to provide services. I left out the part where we pay for services and then pay again to actually use them. Council tax is going up and up and we’re getting less and less for it. Free access toilets should be a basic requirement.”

Loladog believes, “There should be no cost for using a public amenity. Other places handle it.”

Cornwall Amigo replies: “The problem is that the free toilets eventually close. So I’m in favor of the paid ones and a lot more as I get older!! It seems to work elsewhere.”

Moonrakers2 says: “50p??? Whatever happened to “spending a dime”? At this price, they better be clean and with toilet paper!”

Gilly04 has the last word: “You would have thought the ability to use a toilet would be universal…”

Will you be affected by the changes? Do you think it’s fair to pay to pee? Tell us what you think in our comments section.