The “state-of-the-art” public toilets cost £1.
Squat toilets are widely used across China, India and the Middle East (Image: Getty)
A Labour council is charging tourists £1 to use a new set of public toilets in Cambridge – with the facilities costing nearly £1million to build. The toilets on Silver Street bridge have replaced old public conveniences, which were prone to flooding, with the new underground facilities featuring standard toilets alongside three “squat-style flushing toilets”.
Cambridge City Council said the squat toilets were included because they are “preferred by some international visitors”. But the £1 charge has already sparked fury among some people, with one woman saying she would rather have “a normal set of toilets” for free.
The BBC reported that the new facilities cost nearly £1million, despite the original budget being around £400,000.
Heather Boyd, 60, from Orwell, told the broadcaster: “I need the loo right this minute. I saw it was £1 and I’ve just walked past and I’m going to try and find a shop.”
She said the toilets looked “state-of-the-art”, but added: “I’d much rather they built just a normal set of toilets and charged nothing, than one really slick one and charged a pound.”
Asked whether she would use one of the squat toilets, she said: “I certainly think if I’m going to spend £1, I’m not going to squat as well. That is absolutely crazy.”
Another visitor, Lloyd, from Boston in Lincolnshire, joked: “I wanted to go spend a penny, and I spent a pound,” describing the charge as “extortionate”.
Cambridge attracts over eight million visitors per year (Image: Getty)
The toilets are located close to the famous Mathematical Bridge at Queens’ College and are used by tourists visiting the city.
They include a wheelchair-accessible toilet at street level, baby-changing facilities and stairs leading down to the main toilets.
The council said the charge would help pay for an attendant to be present for six hours a day.
Council leader Katie Thornburrow defended the decision, saying the authority wanted the toilets to be “clean and safe” for people to use.
She acknowledged that the signage explaining the charge needed to be better and said the council would review the £1 fee after six or 12 months.
Labour councillor Martin Smart said the new loos “really enhance the cityscape in this historic and much-visited part of the city”, adding that they “will provide a modern, well-managed facility for thousands of the visitors we welcome to Cambridge each year”.
He said: “The design prioritises safety, accessibility, and user confidence in its busy city-centre setting and demonstrates how high-quality contemporary design can successfully integrate with a sensitive historic setting while delivering lasting civic, environmental, and social value.”
There are also other free public toilets available elsewhere in Cambridge, including facilities on Parker’s Piece which the council recently decided to reopen.
The nearest free alternative toilets are approximately a 10-minute walk away in a shopping centre elsewhere in the city centre, according to the council’s public toilets map.