The other day, I received a letter from Councillor Gary Malcolm, representative for Southfield Ward, expressing concern about increasing antisocial behaviour in the ward, especially around Southfield Rec(reation Ground). This behaviour included drug dealing and drug taking, as well as public urination and defecation. While I cannot talk about the drug aspect (as I have never used or sold them, and don't know the legal implications involved), I do, however, l have a suggestion regarding the latter...
Some decades ago, there used to be a brick building near the tennis courts in Southfield Rec, containing male and female public toilets, which was inexplicably removed many years ago. Around the same time, there were many other public toilets in the area, in parks and on streets, which have also closed down and been turned into car parks, cafes, bars, clubs or extra parkland, in Southfield's case. I appreciate that the need for toilet use outside your own home has probably decreased radically over the years (somewhat like the need to go to a library to look up information in books and magazines, since the internet came along). However, there is obviously still some need for toilets, as Cllr Malcolm reports, yet very few options if one gets caught short. Perhaps therefore, the reinstatement of public toilets might help to alleviate this antisocial behaviour? |