Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council is pleased to hear that public toilets in Oldham are opening from 21 July from 10am – 4pm. 

Councillor Sykes wrote recently to the Chief Executive of Oldham Council asking when toilets would reopen as the lifting of lockdown increased the number of people accessing shops and public parks, and a lack of public toilets was both inconvenient and a deterrent preventing many people from going out.  He also asked about the timetable for reopening toilets in the premises of business partners and community venues participating in the Community Toilet Scheme.

This issue was also raised by Councillor Sykes’ colleague, fellow Shaw Councillor Hazel Gloster, at last Wednesday’s meeting of Full Council (15 July).

Councillor Sykes said:  “The simple biological reality is that we all need the loo from time to time.  If people are going out for the day, or even for just a few hours, being without a toilet is a major inconvenience and to save embarrassment some people, especially those who are elderly, or have disabilities, or are accompanied by young children, will simply stay home rather than go out.  We need people to return to going shopping and socialising whilst observing the rules on social distancing.  The reopening of public and community toilets represents a real step forward to getting back to the new normal.”