The city is set to receive £1.5 million in funding over the next two years
Peterborough city centre will have new public toilets by 2028, says Peterborough City Councillor Mohammed Jamil (Lab). The Cabinet Member for Finance & Corporate Governance responded to recent calls by residents and fellow councillors alike that the lack of centrally accessible toilets was a “major issue”.
“I totally agree,” he said. “We think they are essential [and] crucial and we will go out of our way to make sure this happens. We hear the public’s message to us loud and clear and, as an administration, we are looking to bring public toilets back into use within two years.”
When pressed by the Local Democracy Reporting Service on where the new facilities might be sited, Cllr Jamil said he hoped they would be located “in and around Cathedral Square”.
The Central ward councillor and deputy Labour leader said this was the right time for the City Council to address the absence of centrally located public toilets. “We now see a golden opportunity with the city centre funding,” he said. “The government has given us £1.5m.”
As part of the UK government’s Pride in Place programme announced last year, Peterborough city centre is set to receive funding of £750,000 this year and £750,000 next year. “What we’re looking at with colleagues is how we’re going to spend that money,” Cllr Jamil said.
Re-purposing the Guildhall, greening the Cathedral Square, and creating better infrastructure for markets have been some of the potential ideas explored by councillors and officers.
“Public toilets are very high up on our agenda,” the councillor confirmed. Along with the option of potentially introducing standalone public toilets, Cllr Jamil speculated the new facilities could also be set within a re-purposed shop, in the corner of a shop or within a current council-owned building.
One possibility that is not on the table though is re-opening the old underground toilets which used to be behind St John’s Church.
“They’re not really an option,” the councillor confirmed. He explained: “A lot depends on what we’re going to do with the Guildhall – those [old] toilets were right behind the Guildhall; if we repurpose the Guildhall, say for example, as a restaurant [then] it may not be the best place for them.”


