A collaboration with Age UK London, working with London’s councils, to capture and share how Community Toilet Schemes operate in the capital.
This Impact Fellowship is held by Gail Ramster, building on her previous research (Engaged, Mayor of London / RCA, 2022-23). The project partners with Age UK London. Their ‘London Loos’ campaign, active since 2022, includes their 2025 report Lifting the Lid: Looking for a better understanding of local authorities and public toilets and the launch of the London Loo Alliance.
The Places We Go brought together London council officers and others involved in community toilet schemes, many of whom had never met.
The project also interviewed Age UK Campaigners for better toilets in the capital, and researched other mechanisms, such as planning, business rates and toilet strategies, to share best practice in council toilet policy.
By bringing knowledge together, both in person and through published guidance, the project aims to improve existing community toilet schemes, and assist councils considering one, both in the capital and beyond.
The project is possible through funding from the RCA AHRC Impact Acceleration Account award (UKRI AH/X00337X/1).
The challenge
40% of public toilets in England & Wales have closed since 2000, and London’s public toilet problem is acute. 70% of older Londoners identified toilets in their high streets as inadequate (Age UK London, 2022), while 59% of Londoners whose high street had no toilet said this restricted their time there (Talk London / Royal College of Art, 2023).
Increasing the number of toilets we can use helps us to access high streets, transport modes, social activities and work. Toilets are a critical part of the Mayor of London’s night-time strategy, and London has the UK’s fastest growing older population, many affected by reduced continence.
Many neighbourhoods now rely on non-council-owned toilets. This includes council-managed community toilet schemes, where businesses and organisations allow non-customers to use their toilets.
Yet the only UK community toilet scheme guidance dates from 2008, leaving each council to reinvent the wheel. In 2021, the London Assembly recommended the Mayor ‘provides an opportunity for local authorities to share best practice on community toilet schemes.’ The Places We Go delivers this.
What we did
The data gathering for The Places We Go took place in 2025–2026. The main activity was an in-person workshop, with further information gathered through interviews with campaigners and desk research.
The in-person workshop, held in October 2025 at the RCA, invited council officers and others involved in the planning and management of Community Toilet Schemes to share their experiences. Councils considering schemes also came, to air concerns and learn what works.
The workshop consisted of small group discussions on four topics:
- Setting up the Scheme
- Designing & Running the Scheme
- Monitoring & Evaluation
- Communicating the Scheme.
Further research featured in the guidance was based on a group interview with Age UK campaigners (November 2025); and desk research into:
- Planning
- Leases and rates
- Toilet strategies in 2026
The guidance was published in June 2026, and launched at the New Local’s Stronger Things Conference, attended by 1000 council officers. Age UK London is planning a webinar to share the guidance with councils outside London, for 2026.
Outputs
- Age UK London & RCA, (2026). The Places We Go and the London Loo Alliance: Exhibition stand, Stronger Things conference, 16 June 2026, London.
- Ramster, G. 2026. The Places We Go: Community Toilet Schemes in London. RCA.
