Shirley is a vibrant shopping area and has the most popular and most used park in Solihull, yet there are no public toilet facilities. Businesses with toilets tend to keep them for customers only and the few who will allow non customers to use the toilet are not signposted anywhere. 

Pregnant women, elderly people, small children and people with medical conditions have their visits to Shirley restricted by the lack of toilet provision. Elderly residents have spoken to me about feeling so anxious about going to Shirley that they don’t bother anymore, which contributes to their isolation and loneliness. Toilet provision should be a basic necessity in an inclusive society because greater access to toilets means greater access to the community. 

We call upon Solihull MBC to provide accessible, well signposted public toilets in Shirley.