Why Stratford’s Public Toilets Are £200,000 Over Budget

Running Stratford-on-Avon District Council’s 13 public toilets is set to cost about £200,000 more than planned this year, mainly because of the staff needed to unlock and lock them every day. At the same time, the toilets are busier than they were a year ago, with visits at Avon Bank more than doubling over the summer.

The overspend was first set out in the council’s half-year budget report, which we covered in our story on the council’s forecast underspend. The toilets had a budget of £233,000 for cleaning and opening, but the estimated cost this year is about £450,000, according to the Stratford Herald’s Local Democracy Reporting Service report. Small savings elsewhere in the property budget bring the gap down to £200,000.

Why the toilets cost more

The cost came up at the council’s Cabinet on Monday 2 November, when Reform UK councillor Sarah Whalley-Hoggins asked whether it was a procurement failure and whether the overspend would repeat every year of the contract. The council’s finance chief, Richard Burrell, told the meeting it was not. “We went out to procurement and didn’t have anyone come forward. Nobody wanted to do it for the sum of money that we were able to pay and that was the most economic rate we could get,” he said.

Cllr David Curtis, the Cabinet member for resources, called it an unavoidable cost that will be taken into account when the 2027-28 budget is set. Council leader Cllr Susan Juned said town councils had been asked whether they would take the toilets on, but preferred not to. At an earlier scrutiny meeting, deputy chief executive Tony Perks said the main pressure was opening and closing all the toilets at the same time, and that it had been hard to find local staff to do it.

More people are using them

The council told the Herald that its people counters show use rising across much of the district this year, especially at Waterside, Avon Bank, Shipston and Southam. The figures it gave:

• Waterside, ladies: 20,448 visits in October 2026, up from 16,415 in October 2025.
• Avon Bank, gents: 11,031 visits in August 2026, up from 4,332 in August 2025.
• Shipston, ladies: 5,759 visits in October 2026, up from 3,246 a year earlier.
• Alcester, gents: 3,968 visits in August 2026, up from 3,169 in August 2025.

The council hasn’t said whether it will change opening hours or retender the contract. Its full-year forecast still shows an overall underspend of about £608,000, mostly from higher interest on its savings. More council stories are on our council news page.

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Alex Harrington

Alex Harrington grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon and runs What's up, Stratford? as an independent guide to the town.