Toilet charges mean no such thing as a 'free pee'

Council chiefs were told there was no such thing as a "free pee" as they agreed plans to introduce 40p charges to use public toilets across North Yorkshire.

Members of North Yorkshire Council's executive committee voted to carry out a review of the authority's network of conveniences, including the introduction of a standard entry fee.

As part of the review, the council has committed to an improvement programme to ensure that all toilet facilities are in a good or excellent condition by 2030.

Councillors took the decision despite a call from Norton councillor Keane Duncan to keep it "free to pee".

Duncan, whose concerns previously led members to defer a decision, told the meeting at Ripon Town Hall that members of the public who had contacted him "believed that public toilets are a basic fundamental service that should remain free to access".

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he said: "While I recognise the council's financial position, I do hope the executive would agree that charging to go to the toilet should never be the council's first instinct.

"It should be its last resort and only where it makes practical and financial sense.

"I would like to seek an assurance that every alternative will be fully and properly exhausted before any move towards extending charging or making closures."

Councillor Richard Foster, executive member for managing our environment, said entry fees were needed to provide a better toilet infrastructure.

"There is a cost and unfortunately, there isn't a free pee.

"Somebody pays for it somewhere, the cleaning fees, the water rates, electricity, the consumables that go into toilets all have a cost."

Fellow member Simon Myers said some toilets had been left in a "shocking state" by former district and borough councils that had not charged for their use and believed introducing a charge was "inevitable" in the current financial climate.

Councillors agreed that the entry fee should be set at 40p rather than a higher proposed rate of 50p.

External funding will be sought to help fund conveniences in areas popular with tourists, but plans to increase fees to park in car parks with toilets, to help cover the cost of running the conveniences, were abandoned.

The authority is responsible for 85 traditional toilet blocks and eight Changing Places toilets with enhanced accessibility, more than any other council in the UK.

Of those, 28 already have entry fees, which were introduced by previous district and unitary authorities.

It cost the council about £230,000 to operate its toilet network in 2025/26.

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