Thursday September 4th 2025
Public toilets in Portobello
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Joe Sullivan
Edinburgh Council could explore re-opening more public toilets if proposals set to be seen by councillors next week are approved.
In a report before next week’s Transport and Environment Committee, council officers are proposing a survey of closed public toilets across the Capital.
And, they are asking for permission to explore opening new toilet facilities in the city where investment funding can be gathered.
The report says that, since the pandemic, there has been a greater demand for public toilets in Edinburgh.
Officers say that they can support people leaving home, and that access to them prevents people from avoiding food or drink when out and about.
Some 11 public toilets were shuttered in 2015 as part of a cost-saving measure, with toilets being chosen for closure based on condition and usage numbers.
They say that currently, four of the city’s designated ‘town centres’ – Portobello, Stockbridge, Nicolson Street and Morningside/Bruntsfield – currently have public toilets, while five do not.
And they add that the Nicolson Street toilets, located at the Potterrow end of Nicolson Square, are currently closed due to anti-social behaviour.
Officers want to see a renewed assessment of the closed toilets, and listed what information they had on the state of repair and repair cost estimates of those that have not been demolished or repurposed.
They also want to see exploration of what new toilets could be opened, and cited recent successful projects in Edinburgh and Glasgow as an example of what could be done or continued.
Transport and Environment Committee convener, Labour councillor Stephen Jenkinson, said: “We’re improving our public toilet provision across the city with the opening of new facilities in three of our parks and South Queensferry.
“Next week committee will discuss if we need to carry out a survey on our current provision in the city centre.”
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