Portable toilet hire business could have a drastic increase in customers as small cafés and takeaways may be forced to provide public toilets.

In compliance to 1976 local government miscellaneous provisions act; section 20 a small food and drink business with less than 10 seats do not have to provide public toilets. Nobody currently expects to use the toilet in a Pizza takeaway or a small barista, but this all might change.

Two branches of Greggs bakeries located in Hull (both which had fewer than 10 seats) have had a court ruling that they must provide public toilets because they currently hold an ‘unfair commercial advantage’ over their competitors. This ruling is being appealed by the bakery but if it stands it could set a precedent for other small takeaways and coffee shops in the UK to comply to the set ruling.

With the steady decrease of government funding for public welfare facilities, toilets across the United Kingdom have been closing at record speeds, It is estimated that 40% of Britain’s public toilets have closed in the last decade. This provides the impression that the government are expecting small businesses to provide public toilet services during these challenging financial times. This could unfortunately make many small businesses be forced to close….

“We have regular inquiries from local councils about providing toilets for recently closed public toilet facilities” – Chis Dayus Sales Manager at AndyLoos.

We will be watching attentively for results on the appeal and all future welfare legalisation, follow our social media for alerts when we release new blogs.