Eight Public Toilet Blocks In Central London To Be Refurbished

Last Updated 19 November 2024

Eight Public Toilet Blocks In Central London To Be Refurbished
The Victoria Embankment toilets will have nods to nearby landmarks. ©Hugh Broughton Architects

Eight public toilet facilities in central London will be refurbished, Westminster City Council has announced.

Toilets at Victoria Embankment, Parliament Street, Piccadilly Circus and Green Park will be be renovated by the end of 2025, while those in Carnaby Street, Westminster Pier, Covent Garden and Leicester Square are due to be upgraded the following year.

The idea is to design toilet facilities which are pleasant enough that they instil a sense of 'civic pride' strong enough to prevent people from wanting to vandalise them, thus keeping maintenance costs down in the long term.

Designs for the Parliament Street toilets in Westminster © James Lambert

To that end, artist James Lambert has been commissioned to create motifs linked to the immediate area surrounding each set of facilities. For the first project, the toilets on Victoria Embankment, that includes nods to Joseph Bazalgette's sewer system, George John Vulliamy's nearby sphinx statues, the London Underground, Victoria Embankment Gardens, and the Tattershall Castle Steamer.

Following that, the Parliament Street toilets, which are linked by tunnels to Westminster station, will feature artworks of the nearby Elizabeth Tower, and those in Piccadilly Circus will reference the area's theatrical history.

There will be a small charge to use the facilities to help with maintenance costs, though exact details haven't yet been confirmed. The toilets at Victoria Embankment and Westminster Pier will be wheelchair accessible, but others won't be, due to the fact that they are located below street level.

While it's great news that councils are paying attention to the need for accessible toilet facilities, it would be even better to see new facilities being opened, in addition to those which already exist.

It follows the recent news that seven Tube and London Overground stations are getting new toilets over the next five years.