'Toilet tax' plan for loo fees is deferred

Proposals to introduce a charge to use public toilets owned by North Yorkshire Council have been blocked.

Senior councillors were expected to approve a series of recommendations which included the introduction of a 40p or 50p charge at a meeting on Tuesday.

However, it was removed from the agenda after one councillor raised concerns about the plans.

Keane Duncan, who represents Norton, had campaigned against charges for conveniences in Malton and said he had asked the authority's executive to take more time to consider the issue.

The Conservative member said: "Charging people to use the toilet is unfair and unjust. Thanks to the strength of our community petition, we successfully stopped charges and closures in Malton last year.

"With the threat of a toilet tax now looming for the whole of North Yorkshire, I am relaunching my 'free to pee' campaign and redoubling efforts to defend this essential service in communities across the county."

He said he welcomed the council leaders' decision to postpone the plan to give time for the "full impact" of the proposals to be considered.

In addition to a charge, the plans included the closure of underused or dilapidated conveniences and encouraging town and parish councils to take over the running of their local facilities.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, several other members of the Conservative and Independents group, which controls the council, had raised concerns about the roll-out of fees.

Andrew Williams, independent councillor for Ripon Minster and Moorside, and a member of the ruling group, said he would like to see the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith, contributing towards public toilets.

"The mayor is wanting to levy a tourism tax and raise money from tourists; well he should be providing facilities for them. I think we need to focus on what the mayor brings to the table and then assess our options thereafter."

Discussing why the agenda item had been removed, leader Carl Les told the meeting he had decided to defer the item to a later date, but denied it was due to pressure from backbench colleagues.

The authority is currently responsible for 85 traditional toilet blocks and eight Changing Places accessible toilets - more than any other council in the UK.

Of the 93, 65 are currently free to use.

The service is forecast to cost the authority £230,000 in 2025/26.

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