Bath Public Toilet Occupation: Day 4

Twerton Toilet Occupation

It's official: As of 8pm today the occupation of the Twerton public toilets has ended. After spending 3 nights in the toilet and collecting 2000 petition signatures online and a further 400 outside the toilets, Lin Patterson has left the building. On hearing the news, Occupy Bath posted on Facebook: "BREAKING NEWS - Lin has ended the occupation! She just informed us over the phone and said that she has accomplished what she set out to do. Lin will be appearing as a guest on Daybreak on ITV on Monday morning. The petition is now at 1983 signatures and additionally there are around 400 signatures on a paper petition collected outside the toilets. Well done Lin!!!"

Earlier today, Lin issued the following statement: "A big thank you to all 38 Degrees people who have signed the petition to save our public toilets in Bath. You are amazing. Please ask your family, friends and work colleagues to sign the petition and continue to share it by e-mail, Facebook, Twitter and other social media.

http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/keep-our-public-toilets-open

Both Councillors for Twerton have visited outside the toilets and it seems there may be 2 rays of hope - but nothing is certain , so it would NOT be wise to think the Twerton toilets are safe yet.

First, the disabled toilet is the only wheelchair accessible one in the area, even the football ground has been relying on it to fulfill their statutory obligation to provide equal access. So an Equalities Impact Assessment has been called for, which MAY keep the toilets open for 3 months - possibly.

Then negotiations are going on with nearby establishments. This is possibly the football ground or Morrisons, who have bought the old Blockbuster building, to subsidize the existing toilets and hold the RADAR key for the disabled cubicle. So a lot of maybes.
In the meantime the community can keep up the pressure, now that more people are aware.

So many times today and yesterday, I wished I could film the passion and clarity of those who approached to sign, and their outrage over the possibility of closure.

A couple of 14 year old girls held the fort with the petition table for an hour while I took a much needed nap. They counted the signatures, which now total 309 in 2 days.

Considering most of those people were either using the loo or making a special trip, that is phenomenal. So between the 2 petitions in 2 days, we've topped 2000. Has this happened in Bath before? Sometimes you can be almost overcome by the goodness of people. Let's hope the council will recognize the changed landscape."

Councillor David Dixon, to whom the petition is addressed said "Once I have received the petition I can ensure a full response"

Standing Stone's Blog will report on the outcome of the petition when the time comes.

Congratulations Lin, and well done for standing up for ordinary people.

More on this story:
Day 1: http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/bath-resident-occupies-twerton-public.html
Day 2: http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/bath-public-toilet-occupation-day-2.html
Day 3: http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/bath-public-toilet-occupation-day-3.html 

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Bath Public Toilet Occupation: Day 3

Twerton Public Toilet Occupation

The Twerton Toilet Demo has seen a successful third day. On Wednesday, Lin Patterson begun the occupation of a public toilet that was due to be closed for good yesterday. Since then her petition on the 38 Degrees website has grown to over 1800 signatures and Lin has been featured in the local and national news.

Earlier today, Lin was stood outside the toilet answering questions from the public. Other Bath residents have joined in by collecting several hundred paper signatures. Local taxi drivers have also been very supportive, telling Lin that they regularly stop to use those toilets. A Twerton resident with mobility difficulties commented "I have great difficulty getting to the shops and back. If I get caught short while doing my weekly shopping, I can't just run home like a normal person. I need these toilets to stay open". It has also come to the attention of the demonstrators that Twerton public toilets are the only loos in that region of Bath with disabled access.

Lin has been overwhelmed by the amount of public support. She was stunned when a woman drove all of the way from South Gloucestershire today just to see her. Lin has been passing Occupy Bath updates to post on their Facebook page. Earlier today she commented "What an incredible response to the 38 Degrees petition! Every signature represents 10 others who are disabled, young, busy carers, elderly with medical or mobility problems and the list goes on. We need the council to take down the closure signs and acknowledge their closure plans were unreasonable. I have a friend who absolutely relies on these toilets, which really brings it home. Today has seen a media frenzy which hopefully will generate even more signatures so the council will have to act."

Lin's petition can be found at: http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/keep-our-public-toilets-open

More on this story: 
Day 1: http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/bath-resident-occupies-twerton-public.html
Day 2: http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/bath-public-toilet-occupation-day-2.html
Day 4: http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/bath-public-toilet-occupation-day-4.html

Follow @stonestanding

Bath Public Toilet Occupation: Day 2

Twerton Toilet Protest

Yesterday Bath resident Lin Patterson began an occupation of a public toilet due to be closed by the council today. The toilet remains open and Lin has attracted the attention of the local media, including the Bath Chronicle and the BBC, and was on BBC Points West this evening talking about the campaign.

Since her occupation began yesterday, her petition on the 38 Degrees website has reached over 1000 signatures. This afternoon she commented:

"1000 signatures in just over a day is absolutely amazing! What it means is that we can prevail upon the council to have a debate based on achieving 1000 signatures on a petition to keep the toilets open. I have to thank every single person who took the trouble to sign the petition and please tell your friends and groups to do the same.

I would also like to thank a man named Adie Rawlings who single-handedly gathered almost 200 signatures on a paper petition.

The community is getting involved!"

Lin says that she intends to continue the occupation for at least a few more days.

The protest has seen support from Occupy Bath and many members of the public, many of whom were unaware that the council were closing down toilets in the city. 

Political comedian Mark Thomas, who performed in Bath last week, has added his support to the campaign by tweeting the petition, and called Lin's protest "brilliant".

The petition can be found at: http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/keep-our-public-toilets-open

More on this story:
Day 1: http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/bath-resident-occupies-twerton-public.html
Day 3: http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/bath-public-toilet-occupation-day-3.html 
Day 4: http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/bath-public-toilet-occupation-day-4.html

Follow @stonestanding