TOWN CENTRES
Help
shoppers
spend a
penny
Several businesses in Greenford and Hanwell are paid to
allow shoppers to use their toilets – and now the council
wants the idea to spread to every town in the borough.
E
aling Council’s community
toilet scheme has been
operating in Hanwell and
Greenford since 2011 and has
proved a hit with customers. Those
businesses taking part display a sticker
in their window.
The scheme aims to provide
clean, safe and accessible toilets in
convenient locations for residents and
visitors. Under the scheme, businesses
let members of the public use their
toilet facilities free of charge during
normal opening hours.
Each business taking part receives
an annual fee of £600 per year to
help towards the cost of maintaining
the toilets.
They are only accepted on to the
scheme if certain criteria are met,
based on accessibility, cleanliness and
location. Once accepted, the business
will be part of the scheme for a year
initially – at which point the council
reviews its success before deciding
whether it should continue or not.
Council leader Julian Bell said: “It
is an excellent scheme which helps
encourage shoppers to use their local
high street shops – knowing they
will not get caught short. It is also an
opportunity for local businesses to
potentially attract more people in
to browse.
“The businesses will maintain the
toilets and it is in their interest to
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our fa
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keep them
to a good level
of cleanliness to make sure they do
not put off existing customers and,
potentially, new ones coming in. The
council carries out regular monitoring
of the toilets as well – and a business
will be taken off the scheme if it falls
below expected minimum standards.”
I WOULD LIKE MY BUSINESS
TO JOIN
If you would like to join the scheme or
have any queries, email Fatima Rana at
[email protected]
around ealing
Summer 2016
23