Shoppers give squat toilets a panning

NEW lavatories at Rochdale’s Exchange Shopping Centre hit the national headlines last week.

Two “Nile” pan toilets, where the user squats rather than sit, have been installed alongside traditional toilets in the shopping centre’s male and female loos.

The squat toilets were introduced following advice from community activists to reflect the town’s diverse population.

But critics have panned the idea.

BEATRIZ AYALA spoke to Oldham town centre shoppers to find out what they thought.

Jagadish Goup (31), from Coldhurst, said it would have to be an absolute emergency for him to use a squat toilet.

He added: “I’d have to be desperate. We should stick with what we’ve got.

“I’ve taken my children to squat toilets in India and someone has to go in with them to make sure they don’t stick their leg in.

“Even then I’d rather go to a cafe or restaurant and use theirs.”

John O’Mara (67), from Lees, said: “I’ve used that type of toilet before in places like Turkey but that is a Muslim country.

“How far are people going to go to pander to the Asian community?

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“It’s a case of how many people want that style of toilet and how much is it going to cost.”

His wife Beryl, also 67, said: “With my knees, I’d never get down and then never get back up again.

“They haven’t thought about older people or disabled people.

“I’d rather use a proper toilet.”

Shanaz Bibi (37), from Glodwick, said: “I hate them and my children hate them.

“The older generation may have been brought up on squat toilets but it’s different for my generation, we are used to sitting down.

“Having squat toilets is fair enough if people want them but I’d only use them if I was desperate.”

Paul McDonald (53), from Glodwick said: “If one cubicle was a squat toilet it wouldn’t matter to me but I don’t see it as necessary.

“A toilet is a toilet, it is not a religious thing to have to squat down.

“I like a traditional toilet, leave it as it is. If people are rich enough, they can have a squat toilet in their home or in a building like a mosque.”

Mahbubur Numan (31), from Coldhurst, and his wife Sabina Begum (28), were not fans of the squat design.

They said: “We’re not keen, its hard to bend down.

“You can relax on a traditional pan toilet.

“Back home in Bangladesh they use the squat ones but they are used to that.

“Installing these two toilets is a waste of money, which should be spent on more new toilets and more facilities for children and the disabled.”

Jimmy Hulme (20), from Primrose Bank, said: “They need to focus on cleanliness instead.

“Why should they do one thing for one community and not for another?”

But there was some support.

Joanne Mortin (38), from Salem, said: “I wouldn’t use the squat toilets, it would seem a bit weird not being able to sit down, but I don’t object to them at all.”