YORK attracts millions of visitors every year, and a debate continues about whether there are enough public toilets available and whether a charge should be applied for using them.
Press readers have commented in their dozens online and on our social media accounts following a story we published last week about claimed difficulties from residents and visitors in knowing where council-run loos are in the city centre and their views of the 50p cost of "spending a penny" in York.
The news follows an increasing trend for shops and businesses in the city, and further afield, to limit the use of their toilets to paying customers only, particularly in tourist destinations.
Figures from Visit York, the leisure tourism brand for the city's destination management organisation Make it York said that in 2025, the city pulled in up to 9.4 million domestic and overseas visitors, with the number of staying visitors reaching 1.7 million.
As reported by The Press, locals and visitors using the Silver Street toilets in the city centre on Wednesday September 2 could not pinpoint all the council-run facilities within the city walls, but almost everybody we spoke to said a 50p charge was fair and reasonable, provided that the facilities were up to a high standard.
Some Press readers agreed, with username pinkypie saying: "If it keeps them clean, I'm happy to pay 50 pence."
On Facebook, a commenter said: "I'd happily pay 50p if they were clean and safe", adding she had been in Liverpool a fortnight ago and the WCs were immaculate.
And on the same platform, another commenter said: "If they are clean I don't mind, 50p seems about right."
And on our homepage, a commenter with the username Mulgrave said: "'Pay as you go' is the logical answer to the public WC provision'."
A number of commenters had different views.
One, with the username _yorkie, said: "Public conveniences should be free."
On Facebook, a commenter said: "They should be free, a sign of a civilised city."
On the same platform, another user said: "Tourist tax could pay for free public toilets."
One commenter said: “I didn't even know Silver Street toilets were still there, until I walked past the other day…I imagine a lot of people pass by."
One person shared their frustration with school visits: “Kids on a school trip is a nightmare as no free public toilets, this should not be an issue.”
There were also calls from commenters to have more public toilets around York – especially for those less able to access public buildings.
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