Spending a penny is likely to cost 20p at a new public toilet in Lichfield.
Lichfield District Council is aiming to introduce the charge at the Friary car park facility currently under construction.
The controversial Fit for the Future review has identified an entry fee for loos across Lichfield as one way of helping to plug a £1.7million gap in the local authority’s budget.
A meeting of the council’s Cabinet on June 11 will be asked to rubber stamp the proposal for the charge at the newly-constructed toilets.
As well as raising revenue, a report by Lichfield District Council suggests that the 20p fee could have added benefits.
“The introduction of a charge would not be out of step with what is happening across the country as councils attempt to balance budgets and preserve services,” a report due to be discussed by the Cabinet said.
“There is evidence that a side effect of the charge would be to reduce incidences of vandalism.”
But the installation of new pay-as-you-go loos won’t come cheap, with the council expecting to fork out around £7,500 for an entry system.
And the report warns that a local survey in 2012 suggested 55 per cent of people would only be prepared to pay to spend a penny if the toilets were well maintained.
Forecasts by the local authority suggest that the loos at the Friary car park alone could provide up to £12,000 annually in revenue by the second year of operation. But to achieve that figure 60,000 visits to the toilet by city centre visitors would be required each year, equating to 5,000 a month or 164 trips to the loo a day.
The Friary Car Park toilet charging proposal can be downloaded from Lichfield District Council’s website.
