Toilet passes proposed in Torbay

The council are trialling passes for the vulnerable

It’s still not clear how many people will be able to use new toilet passes proposed for vulnerable residents in Torbay or what the ‘fair use’ policy around them will be.

New toilet passes allowing vulnerable residents in Torbay to use public toilets for free have been put forward as part of the council’s budget for 2022/23.

 Public toilet passes for beach hut users are also proposed, will also have a fair usage policy, although it’s not clear what that will look like.

When pressed for further information the council said details of the new loo passes, which will cost the authority £75,000, are still being worked out.

A spokesperson for Torbay Council said: “As part of our budget consultation process, further suggestions to the initial proposals were put forward. 

“The provision of free public toilet passes for vulnerable residents and beach hut users are just two of several suggestions that officers are currently working through.”

The passes are part of the council’s proposed revenue budget of £121 million for 2022/2023 and a capital plan of £114 million. 

Elsewhere new investments in climate change, parking and housing have been added to the final budget.

Included is a new ‘capital contingency fund.’ The £4 million kitty is being proposed by the council to cover building projects, including regeneration schemes that may have overspent as a result of escalating building costs, exacerbated by the pandemic and Brexit.

In response to the latest budget proposals, the leader of the Conservative opposition at Torbay Council Councillor Dave Thomas (Preston) said he was “pleased” to see the introduction of the toilet pass, adding: “It’s such a shame that this couldn’t be rolled out last summer…I guess if we wait long enough and push hard enough eventually you do listen.”

A full council meeting on Thursday 4 March will be held to decide the final budget for the 2022/23 financial year, which begins in April.