‘i Dream About Toilets, I Admit It’: The Man On A Mission To Improve Britain’s Loos

The first point Raymond Martin looks for successful a toilet, he says, is cleanliness. Does nan insubstantial paper connected nan level mean this nationalist lavatory has grounded his inspection? “You person to understand that it’s a moving toilet, it’s now mid-afternoon – a fewer bits of insubstantial connected nan level is neither present nor there,” Martin says. “If location were cigaret packets, bottles connected nan level – that I’d beryllium worried about.” We’re successful Knutsford, Cheshire, and Martin is connected a toilet-inspection circuit of nan northbound and westbound of nan UK. He’s conscionable travel from nan Lake District and Blackpool. When we portion ways successful a mates of hours, he’ll caput connected to Wales to inspect nan nationalist conveniences of Pembrokeshire.

Do group laughter erstwhile Martin, who is managing head of nan British Toilet Association (BTA), tells them he does toilet inspections? They do, he says. “But then, immediately, they say, ‘I’ll show you wherever I was and they had awesome toilets …’.”

Martin loves nan occupation – it takes him each complete nan country. And he really, really loves loos. He turns 70 this twelvemonth and has started reasoning astir who whitethorn tally nan BTA whenever he steps down. He is, he says, “trying to find personification who has nan passion for toilets”. But earlier then, Martin is connected what he calls his quest. “God aliases whoever said, ‘We request personification to do this job.’ And I went, ‘All right, I’ll springiness it a go.’” Martin wants everyone to beryllium capable to usage clean, safe and accessible nationalist loos. Rather than a nice-to-have “convenience”, he sees toilets arsenic an basal portion of nationalist infrastructure.

The BTA is simply a members’ association, funded by companies including those that creation and build nationalist toilets, truthful it’s intelligibly successful their commercialized interests to person much nationalist conveniences – but it’s successful our interests too. Since 2000, Raymond says nan UK has mislaid astir 50% of its nationalist toilets. The fig is person to 35%, according to Jo-Anne Bichard and Gail Ramster, accessible creation researchers and authors of nan book Designing Inclusive Public Toilets: Wee The People. (They person besides created a Toilet Map of nan UK’s nationalist loos.)

‘It’s astir helping people, wellness and wellbeing, equality’ … Raymond Martin successful his institution car. Photograph: Charles McQuillan/The Guardian

A deficiency of toilets affects each of us, but particularly those pinch disabilities, older group and those pinch chronic illness, including bowel and bladder problems. People person described not drinking capable (so arsenic not to beryllium caught short), soiling themselves successful public, aliases not going retired astatine each – nan “urinary leash” that keeps group trapped astatine location if they don’t cognize if they’ll beryllium capable to entree a loo. “It’s astir sanitation and hygiene,” says Martin astir his passion for nationalist loos. “It’s astir helping people, wellness and wellbeing, equality, and it’s conscionable astir making things right.” Does he dream astir toilets? He laughs. “Yes, I person to admit it.”

When nan Con-Lib conjugation authorities introduced austerity successful 2010 and trim councils’ budgets, 1 of nan first things galore of them did to prevention money was adjacent nationalist loos. Since nan BTA was group up successful 1999, it has been trying to get nan authorities to return toilets earnestly (it besides campaigns connected different issues, specified arsenic nan proviso of sanitary bins successful antheral toilets, and keeping an oculus connected loo-related issues, including schools restricting entree during lessons).

After nan Covid pandemic, galore of nan toilets that were closed ne'er reopened. When nan levelling up and regeneration measure was announced, and a “toilet tsar” was suggested to oversee nationalist convenience provision, nan Conservatives rejected it. “[They said] cipher wants to beryllium nan Minister for Poo. Nobody wants to beryllium nan toilet minister.”

Martin has much religion successful nan existent government. Last year, he was invited to speak to Alex Norris, curate for building safety, occurrence and section growth. He took astir 20 colleagues and partners, including representatives from disablement groups and waste and acquisition unions, to talk toilets – and he was backmost again 3 months ago. He hopes nan authorities will make nationalist loos a statutory request for councils (and supply nan backing for it). “The government’s very keen connected safer, cleaner neighbourhoods, societal inclusion and interaction, and rebuilding towns,” says Martin. “Toilets are an perfectly basal portion of this.” Martin is assured for nan first clip successful years that nationalist loos will yet go obligatory.

A closed nationalist toilet successful Avonmouth, Bristol.
Photograph: Paul Hennell/Alamy

Over nan people of a year, Martin will time off his location successful Bangor, Northern Ireland, and sojourn astir 600 toilets, including those successful supermarkets and successful pub chains specified arsenic Wetherspoon’s, to cheque their condition, but besides to springiness feedback connected really they tin beryllium improved. This week, he will sojourn a random action of astir 50 nationalist loos tally by nan institution Danfo.

In 1 car parkland successful Knutsford, location are 3 azygous toilets – “unisex cubicles are nan measurement to go”, says Martin – including an accessible one, which we look astatine first. “Number one: really easy nan doorway is to open,” he says. During our day together, I announcement he often says “number one”, but doesn’t ever travel it up pinch a “number two” – but number ones, I suppose, are much common. He has a ample number of checks to do, including nan number of rails inside; that they’re successful nan correct position, and there’s capable abstraction for a wheelchair to turn. But nan spot is astir 2cm excessively debased to beryllium easy sat connected by a wheelchair-user. “We’ll make that proposal to them.”

A support would beryllium useful, peculiarly for group changing a colostomy bag. Martin pulls nan babe changing array down. “You’re looking for stability,” he says. “And sides truthful nan kid can’t rotation disconnected it. Somebody’s been successful here, look.” There are strands of baccy connected nan array – nan sign, he says, of personification rolling a joint. Sometimes, group will usage nan changing array for lines of cocaine, he adds. “Then you put a babe … It’s thing we person to beryllium alert of.” There is simply a sharps disposal hole, but cleaners still person to beryllium alert that needles whitethorn person been hidden down toilets. “Prick injuries, putting your manus astir nan backmost of nan toilet to cleanable it.”

The built-in metallic descend and dryer is successful moving bid and virtually spotless, and location are 2 overgarment hooks: good. “The reflector is cleanable arsenic a whistle. Lighting is good.” He sniffs. “No odour. It’s very difficult to make this overmuch amended for a nationalist toilet.” He’ll springiness it 4 stars – a grading strategy he has invented. “I’m trying to cleanable it.” What mightiness person pushed that up to a five? Perhaps a sanitiser for nan seat, he says, “because you don’t cognize whose bum’s been connected that last”. And 1 of nan handrails could beryllium screwed successful a spot tighter, he adds.

In nan mini cafe adjacent door, complete coffee, Martin explains 1 measurement councils could salary for nationalist loos. “You person a assembly toilet, but you person a java shop connected nan backmost of it, truthful these 2 activity successful symbiosis,” he says. “The rent from present will offset nan costs of nan toilets. You return a artifact of toilets, trim it successful half, you put a shop successful 1 side, and you put unisex cubicles successful nan different side. Around nan country, we’re now starting to spot things for illustration java shops, tourer accusation centres … I deliberation successful 1 spot there’s an creation gallery.” As good arsenic nan authorities making toilets an essential, and providing money, “we besides request to deliberation astir these caller ideas, and organization groups [running loos]”.

Martin tin trace his liking successful lavatories backmost to his clip astatine schoolhouse successful nan 60s, and a history coach informing that 1 of nan biggest threats to humanity was a pandemic, aliases antibiotic resistant germs. The value of sanitation lodged successful his mind, says Martin. As an adult, he went into sales, dealing successful location appliances, past electronics, moving his measurement up. But his life was astir to collapse.

When Martin was 32, his woman died 4 days aft giving commencement to their 2nd daughter. Years later, he discovered his woman had OTC deficiency, a uncommon familial information that affects really nan assemblage removes ammonia. (It besides explained nan earlier death, astatine 2 days old, of their first child.) “The doctors didn’t moreover cognize astatine that time,” he says. Martin was near pinch a one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, and a newborn to look after. “There were very difficult times for a batch of years,” he says, but he adds that he had a batch of support – nannies, a bully friend and his family.

‘Toilets are astir wellness and wellbeing, but they’re besides astir nan section economy.’ Photograph: Charles McQuillan/The Guardian

When his daughters were children, Martin became moreover much focused connected hygiene and cleanliness, he says. As a azygous father, taking nan girls to nan loo was difficult. “I spent my clip searching for toilets, and looking astatine toilets and going successful and checking if they were each correct to beryllium used. The men’s toilets were despicable, successful astir cases.” He would often guidelines extracurricular nan women’s loos, which were nan only accommodation to person babe changing tables, past take his infinitesimal to inquire if he could spell inside. “The adjacent point would beryllium [a female would say]: ‘Here, this bloke is going to alteration a baby’s nappy. Do you spot this?’ I’d person a crowd astir me.” This was 40 years ago, he says, erstwhile men were not really expected to do specified things. Years later, he was, he says, “one of nan large drivers who sewage babe alteration tables successful men’s toilets, and we’d for illustration to spot a batch more.”

In nan early 90s, Martin started moving for nan run organisation Keep Britain Tidy. While assessing nan cleanliness of beaches for Blue Flag status, he became moreover much willing successful lavatories. “To get a bluish flag, you expected toilets for visitors and you had to look aft them,” he says. He became truthful recognised arsenic a loo master that he started moving for nan BTA successful 2002, doing surveys for them astatine first, earlier taking complete arsenic managing head successful 2014. It’s a voluntary role, though he gets paid for nan surveys and consultations.

In that time, Martin has watched nationalist toilets spell down nan pan. He understands nan pressures – it costs astir £15,000 a twelvemonth to tally a mini artifact of toilets, he says – but says nan money-saving was shortsighted arsenic it meant municipality centres, and nan businesses successful them, started to suffer. “Toilets person a copy effect. Number one, it’s astir wellness and wellbeing. But they’re besides astir nan section economy.”

If we want to person thriving municipality centres, we request nationalist loos, he says. The schemes wherever councils partner pinch section businesses to unfastened their toilets to nan nationalist only spell truthful far. “A shop opens astatine 9am, closes astatine 5pm. What do you do from 6am, erstwhile runners are out, canine walkers, postal workers, transportation drivers? What astir nan evening, erstwhile group want to spell out? So you person to person assembly proviso arsenic well.” Truckers and transportation drivers shouldn’t person to urinate successful bottles. “We cognize it happens – but it shouldn’t hap successful a modern society.”

More kaput commodes successful Merthyr Tydfil, southbound Wales. Photograph: Jeff Morgan 14/Alamy

The nationalist loos successful Knutsford complaint 30p. It’s partially to salary towards nan costs of upkeep, but it besides reduces vandalism, says Martin. “Somehow we’ve sewage to get group to respect toilets. I don’t deliberation they realise erstwhile they’re doing it, nan effect [toilet closure is having] connected older people, group pinch terrible disabilities.” Are group unfastened to paying? “No, is nan answer. We each expect free toilets. I really deliberation they should beryllium free, but reality sets in, and costs person gone up and we’ve sewage to money them.”

We spell crossed municipality to sojourn different group of nationalist loos, which look awesome to my untrained eye. “Now, nan disapproval present is nan achromatic rails, because group pinch partial show could person problem seeing them,” says Martin. They should person had a set of acheronian portion put connected them, for visibility. The rails connected nan babe alteration array could beryllium higher, and nan descend could beryllium lower, but otherwise, Martin is happy. Four stars!

In his chatty way, Martin has been talking toilets for hours, from nan lavatories shown astatine nan 1851 Great Exhibition to nan caller solid cubicles Japan has introduced for its nationalist toilets, to his dream that nan UK will big nan World Toilet Summit adjacent year. On his tours of nan UK’s toilets, are location ones that instrumentality successful his mind? Does he person a favourite? “If they’re moving and cleanable and serviceable,” he says “that’s my favourite benignant of toilet.”