Public toilets in Swale
Published
Monday 17 November, 2025
Updated
Monday 17 November, 2025
Swale councillors have agreed on the future of public toilets in Swale at a meeting last week, 12 November, following a 12-week public consultation.
Members of Swale Borough Council’s Environment Services and Climate Change Committee agreed to offer to transfer seven toilets to town and parish councils to operate, so they can make sure they remain open to the public.
They also agreed for officers to begin working with local businesses to create a community toilet scheme.
This would allow members of the public to use the toilet facilities of businesses that have signed up to the scheme, without having to make a purchase.
The council also wanted people’s views on which public toilets should close out of the ones identified as having low use and are costly to maintain.
The three toilets that people said they would prefer to close, based on the percentage of the 750 people who voted for them, were:
- Milton Regis High Street, Milton Regis – 13 daily users - 30%
- The Forum, Sittingbourne – 99 daily users – 22%
- The White House, Minster – 16 daily users – 21%
The council has agreed to close these three toilets from 1 April 2026.
These toilets alone would cost the council at least £350,000 in maintenance costs by 2032, and Milton saw the lowest daily users, whilst the Forum and the Whitehouse toilets are located near other public facilities.
These changes will make sure the most used toilets remain open and can be better maintained, with possible additional funding, while the council works towards a sound financial footing.
In addition, councillors agreed to begin the tender process for the opening, cleaning, and maintenance of the remaining toilets.
The committee also agreed to write to the Secretary of State to advocate for public conveniences to become a statutory obligation.
Cllr Dolley Wooster, chair of the Environmental and Climate Change Committee, said:
“We know that well maintained public toilet facilities are incredibly important for our local communities, and this consultation has confirmed that view.
“However, we need to make sure we are on a sound financial footing to continue offering these important facilities. Our toilets currently cost us almost half a million pounds each year, with some seeing a lot more use than others.
“The toilets that Swale Borough Council will continue to support means that the community in Swale will retain facilities for the widest amount of our residents, and visitors to the area, where possible.
“The three toilets we will be closing were the most chosen by our residents in our consultation and generally have low use – with as little as 13 people a day - and are in poor condition, with a potential maintenance bill of more than £300,000.
“We want to work with local town and parish councils, local businesses, and other partners to reduce the impact on people’s access to quality well-maintained toilets within Swale.
“I will be writing to the Secretary of State, on behalf of the committee, to advocate for these important facilities to become a statutory obligation because The Environmental Services and Climate Change committee understand the importance of these facilities to our community.”
