Overview

I visited the accessible toilet in Victoria Square, Paignton. As a disabled person I found it not very safe or nice to use the facilities.

Transport & Parking

The accessible toilet is a 2 minute walk from Paignton Railway Station and close to the bus station.

Access

There is a ramp to the accessible toilet.

Toilets

The toilet was spacious and had grab rails. There was a button on the side above the grab rail which I think was the emergency button. If I was in the floor I would not be able to reach it. The accessible toilet no longer uses a radar key. If you want to use the toilet you can only do so if you pay 30p via a contactless card. My concern is not everyone has a contactless card, particularly older people and older children, if they are disabled they may be prevented from accessing toilet provision. The Torbay Council website says "RADAR keys We no longer use RADAR keys in our toilets. Unfortunately, the RADAR key scheme is not regulated and a key can be purchased by anyone for less than £2. This has resulted in many of our toilets becoming vandalised or a target for anti-social behaviour. To keep all of our toilets in a clean and a ‘home from home’ environment we have a fee paying system." https://www.torbay.gov.uk/leisure-sports-and-community/toilets/ Inside what I found when I arrived was that people were keeping the door open for each other, to avoid payment. This meant that as a disabled person I had to wait to access the accessible toilet while general members of the public used it. I feel that Torbay Council's comments are meaningless as anyone who can pay 30p or have the door kept open for them can access an accessible toilet. When I went inside the floor was wet and slippery. I walk with a crutch and felt unsafe. I think Torbay Council should rethink their removal of RADAR keys, as most disabled people have their own key. There are many disabilities which necessitate the use of an accessible toilet, and accessible toilets are few and far between, for example in Paignton there are many restaurants and cafes which don't offer accessible toilets for their customers, so these customers either have to access public accessible toilets, as I did during my visit, limit their fluid until they can return home/ to their holiday accommodation, or risk possibly wetting or soiling themselves if they haven't got a contactless card on them. I believe that Torbay Council as part of their duty to provide Reasonable Adjustments under the Equality Act should provide RADAR key accessible toilets for disabled people.

Staff

I didn't see any staff. I reported it via Twitter to Torbay Council and James replied saying I needed to phone or email in the problem (see photo of tweets), which I don't find very helpful when I've already reported it via twitter to the council.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

I didn't feel covid confident. The floor was wet and slippery and I felt unsafe with my mobility disability walking on the floor. It was an unpleasant experience and will make me think about spending any length of time in Paignton in the future, I will most likely cut short my visit and make straight for the theatre rather than have a day out, and this will then impact on the amount of money I spend in the area. I would welcome Torbay Council having a rethink to ensure the safety and well-being of disabled visitors.

Photos