Visitors caught short no longer need to worry about not having change to access the public toilets following the installation of card readers to two cubicles.
Knutsford Town Council provides two public toilet blocks in the town centre, one at the bus station and another on King Street car park near the Moor. Each block comprises three toilets – a female, unisex and unisex accessible.
The unisex accessible cubicles, which also include a baby change table, can now be accessed by credit/debit card and contactless payments. This is in addition to access via a RADAR key or coin.
“We know that an increasing number of people don’t carry cash so wanted to ensure that accessing our public toilets is easy for everyone who needs to.” said Town Clerk Adam Keppel-Green.
The Town Council will be reviewing the impact of the card terminals on usage at the toilets and may consider adding terminals to the other cubicles in the future.
Alongside the installation of the new card payment terminals, the usage fee for the public toilets has also increased to 30p. The 20p charge was introduced when the Town Council took on public toilets in 2013 and contributes to the annual cost of cleaning and repairs. The Town Council consulted its contractor, Danfo, who provide public toilets across the country who highlighted that 30p is now the standard cost for most public toilets.
Knutsford’s public toilets have consistently been recognised for their high quality in industry awards (yes, there are awards for toilets). The toilets were awarded Gold/Platinum in the Loo of the Year awards until 2021 and subsequently given a 4-star rating by the British Toilet Association.