Issue - meetings

The report on this agenda item will also cover items 9 & 10.

Members were reminded that the report for this item also covered agenda items 9 and 10 and that the recommendations for all three items would be taken en bloc.

The Cabinet Member for Nature, Open Spaces and City Services introduced the report.

The report referred to the implementation of the Liberal Democrat proposals on reopening Parker’s Piece and Quayside toilets.

In response to questions from Cabinet Members and those Councillors present, the Cabinet Member for Nature, Open Spaces and City Services said:

      i.         Noted the comments to thank staff for their work in delivering these services that covered agenda items 8, 9 and 10. Particularly during a challenging period of hot weather and increased seasonal demand.

    ii.         Services had been operating with reduced staffing levels for several years, and support was expressed for increased investment and to welcome the prospect of improvements to street cleaning, public realm enforcement, and the reopening of closed public toilets.

   iii.         The intention had been to secure approval for the proposals as quickly as possible in order to facilitate their implementation.

  iv.         A report on the future provision of public toilets would be submitted to the relevant Scrutiny Committee on 23 September; the matter could be reviewed by the relevant Scrutiny Committee if considered necessary.

    v.         The report was not seeking Cabinet approval to introduce charges to the public toilets but to recommend this area was where investment was made. Future toilets should be designed in a way that did not prevent charging from being considered.

  vi.         Should a future Cabinet wish to introduce charges at any location, this would require a separate report, supported by a business case, an Equality Impact Assessment, and a formal Member decision.

 vii.         On payment methods, the report recognised that traditional coin-operated systems were becoming increasingly difficult to operate.

viii.         Declining cash use meant many people no longer carried coins, while coin mechanisms require cash collection. These were costly to maintain, and were vulnerable to vandalism, theft, and mechanical failure. Cash collection could also present safety risks for staff.

  ix.         Contactless systems could address many of the issues raised and offered greater convenience for most users. However, there were concerns about accessibility for those without bank cards or compatible payment methods, which included some young people and overseas visitors. This would need to be fully considered as part of any future charging proposal.

    x.         The report did not commit the Council to installing contactless payment equipment. Any future proposal would need to demonstrate that the costs of installation, maintenance, and transaction fees, alongside expected income and operational savings, represented value for money through a detailed business case.

  xi.         The Transformation Fund allocation had not been diverted from budgets for maintaining the existing public toilet estate. It was intended to support the reopening of facilities and associated improvements.

 xii.         Day-to-day maintenance budgets remained in place and Officers continued to respond to issues as they arose.

xiii.         Acknowledged the wider challenges facing the public toilet network, including those at Jesus Green. The report acknowledged that further investment would be required over time. In the short term, Officers were progressing improvements at Jesus Green while developing longer-term proposals linked to the new leisure management contract and future redevelopment of facilities at the Lido.

xiv.         In relation to Abbey Ward, the report focused on reopening facilities and delivering targeted operational improvements. It was not a review of the overall distribution of public toilets across the city.

xv.         Aware of the issues on Mill Road cemetery and its relationship to the former public toilets, including reports of rough sleeping and other challenges within the cemetery. These were ongoing matters that required attention and extend beyond the provision of public toilets alone. Would be happy to discuss these issues outside of the meeting with Councillors and Mill Road Traders.

xvi.         Could not pre-empt any future reconsideration of previous decisions regarding its operation or investment, such as Mill Road toilets.

xvii.         The report before Cabinet was one step within a wider programme of work to reopen facilities, improve service resilience, and ensure flexibility in future investment decisions.

xviii.         Wider questions concerning individual sites, such as Gwydir Street, would continue to be considered as part of the Council's ongoing review of the public toilet estate and future investment priorities.

xix.         The Council remained open to collaborative approaches that could help improve the long-term sustainability and usefulness of these public facilities.

The Cabinet unanimously resolved:

      i.         To approve the immediate reopening of as many individual toilets at Parkers Piece as feasible following condition and compliance checks.

    ii.         To request officers, bring a paper to 23rd September Cabinet setting out options for the future of Parker’s Piece and Quayside toilets, including reopening and operating cost, payment options, and capital investment needed to meet any new accessibility requirements.

   iii.         That four temporary staff are recruited as soon as possible to provide additional street cleansing capacity at priority hotspots, including the city centre, and strengthening programmed cleansing activity across the city, to be organised into a new daily 12-7pm shift.

  iv.         To agree that officers implement route optimisation and operational redesign informed by performance and REEN smart bin technology data to deliver efficiencies that can release existing cleaning capacity for priority hotspots.

    v.         To agree that officers will bring a more detailed paper on longer-term staffing requirements once the additional temporary resource is in place and its impact can be assessed to feed into the budget setting process in late Autumn.

  vi.         To agree to the recruitment of two additional temporary Public Realm Enforcement Officers (a permanent appointment would be made in September, which would replace one of the temporary posts) so that a team of 5 enforcement officers will be funded from July to the end of the financial year.

 vii.         To agree that officers bring an evidence-based report to Cabinet in November/December setting out the impact of the additional capacity and other reforms to improve prevention and enforcement activity with advice on whether there is sufficient capacity or whether further resources are required.

viii.         That the in-year revenue costs of these proposals are funded using the Transformation and Reinvestment Fund, anticipated to be up to £200k, and that the CFO has delegated authority to approve this.

  ix.         That proposals are brought forward as part of the 2027/2028 Budget setting process so that future funding for the costs of toilet reopening, additional street cleaning and enforcement activity can be secured.