Public toilets are, for many people, an essential service. But they are not a statutory service for councils, which means they are not obliged to provide them.

The Stray Ferret revealed on Saturday (November 9) that North Yorkshire Council, which operates more public toilets than any other council in England and Wales, is reviewing its toilet provision. 

The cash-strapped council currently allocates £1.2 million a year on providing the facilities, which are used by between one and two million people.

It recoups £213,000 on entry fees from those toilets in the county — mainly ones on the coast and in Richmond — that charge for entry.

As part of its review, the council has written to parish councils enquiring whether they might be interested in taking over the running of toilets.

To help them make decisions, it has rated the quality of every public convenience in the county. The ratings are based on visual assessments by council officers.

Of 90 public toilets in North Yorkshire, 25 are in the Harrogate district. Here's how each one was graded.

Twelve toilets in the district are rated ‘poor’ for building standard, which means significant changes are required. The other 13 were all assessed to be good. None were excellent.

As for footfall, seven were assessed to be low, 10 were medium and eight were high.

Karl Battersby, the council’s corporate director for environment, has said it will "look to support any organisation that takes on facilities, and this could potentially be with funding from ourselves or by other means". 

He added:

What do you think of the ratings, and what should happen to public toilets? Tell us in the comment section below.