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The red carpet was rolled out today as one of the world’s oldest public toilets reopened following a £300,000 state-of-the-art refit. Champagne corks popped to celebrate the new-look Oxford Circus public convenience. Tucked under a traffic island in the heart of London’s shopping district, it has been specially designed to deter criminals and anti-social behaviour. At today’s opening, Cllr Alan Bradley, cabinet member for Street Environment at Westminster City Council, welcomed the new toilets. He said: "These fantastic new facilities show that Westminster Council is committed to providing safe and clean toilets in the heart of Central London. We have been consulting with police over a number of months about designing in features which would deter criminal activity, including drug-taking and lewd behaviour." Addressing guests from London's business associations, tourist industry and the media, Cllr Bradley added: "Unfortunately it is now the case that we have to take into account crime and other misbehaviour when designing toilets. “I am afraid issues like drug-dealing are things our forebears who first opened these public toilets here in 1885 had not thought of.” Westminster Council spends £2.6 million a year on toilets. The next facility to be refurbished in the City will be those at Piccadilly Circus. The Oxford Circus facility, which first opened in 1885, was last refurbished in 1971 and had fallen into disrepair. Much of the cost of fixing it went towards structural work as water was leaking in from the pavement above. Features include ceiling panels which cannot be removed, so that drug users or shoplifters cannot stash goods there. The cubicle doors in the men’s side have significant gaps at the bottom and top to deter drug-taking and “lewd activity”. Surfaces are graffiti and scratch-proof, while CCTV cameras cover the main floor of the lavatories and the lights bright and unbreakable. The handbasins are designed to make it difficult to wash clothes, to deter homeless people from using the facility as a washroom. The toilets are open from 7.30am until midnight, are permanently attended by male and female staff and are free.
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