Islington council’s plan to install an automatic public toilet has raised eyebrows over the nearly £200,000 price tag.
By Josef Steen, Local Democracy Reporter
Islington council’s plan to install an automatic public toilet has raised eyebrows over the nearly £200,000 price tag.
After close to four years of effort, the cheapest quote Islington Council has found to put in a “small” self-cleaning toilet unit in the public garden Paradise Park is roughly £192,000, a Labour councillor revealed last week.
At a scrutiny committee meeting last Thursday (June 18), Cllr Nurullah Turan raised concerns over the impact of the council “locking itself into contracts” with “two or three” firms at time, which stopped it from using local suppliers – including one who had quoted “25% or less” for the lavatory, he said.
Councils often enter into procurement frameworks, spanning several years, with a list of pre-approved suppliers to save time and avoid the high costs of running a full, open procurement tender. But these agreements can place restrictions on councils picking any other external providers outside the agreement, sometimes reportedly leading to inflated prices.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Islington Council said it was exploring a “range of delivery options” for a self-cleaning automated loo at Paradise Park. The council added that the £192,000 figure was likely to comprise the “potential” full project cost, including installation and utilities, which varied based on site conditions.
Cllr Nick Wayne (Labour), committee chair, said many councillors had “horror stories” of discovering the eye-watering cost of “very basic equipment”. He suggested to the scrutiny panel, whose job it is to consider specific areas where the council can get more value for money, that they do a “deep dive” on certain procurements.
“It would be really helpful if people can go away and have a think to […] just some areas where you thought: this cannot be right,” said Cllr Wayne.
In August 2025, Islington Council spent £1m installing six new automated public toilets and an accessible restroom across the borough. This came following pressure from the campaign group Loos for Islington, which had pushed the council to increase its number of accessible public lavatories.
However, the activist group, backed by Age UK, had earlier been critical of “redundant” automated public toilets, claiming they were prone to failure and attracted antisocial behaviour.
Cllr Ruth Hayes, Executive Member for Health and Social Care, told the LDRS: “As with all council spending, we are committed to securing best value for money and following robust procurement processes at all times, and proposals are currently being explored in relation to public toilet provision in Paradise Park.
“While no decisions have been made and no funding has been committed at this stage, we know that access to clean, safe and free public toilets plays an important role in helping people of all ages use public spaces comfortably.
“A range of options is therefore being explored, including the potential for a new standalone automated public convenience (APC) that could support year-round access, as part of our wider approach, where we believe we’re the only London borough to currently offer free, 24/7 APCs.”
