The closure of the majority of public toilets during the COVID pandemic brought home just how essential these facilities are for health, wellbeing and accessibility, as a critical component of our public health infrastructure.

Yet despite public support for the facilities, 34% of public toilets in England and Wales have closed since 2000. For many, but especially older people, disabled people and those with young families, access to toilet provision can help decide where to shop and visit, or even whether to leave the home. The lack of public toilet provision can also be considered detrimental to wider economic and social engagement.

This paper reports on ‘Engaged’, a research project delivered for the Mayor of London’s Designing London’s Recovery, a post-COVID innovation programme. The research explored alternative models for councils to provide inclusive accessible public toilets that supported local demand. By reintroducing the toilet to the high street, Engaged sought to bring a key feature of public health back into our communities and cities.

The work identified the current barriers faced by local authorities when planning regeneration schemes to include toilet provision. It also included work with the public to assess the importance of provision to communities, and how current design fails to meet the majority’s needs. This paper will report on the findings and possible solutions for ensuring future inclusive toilets are fit for purpose.