About 500 new large accessible toilets for severely disabled people are to be installed across England after the government announced £23.5m of funding.
The BBC reported that The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) said 191 councils had made successful bids.
Zack Kerr from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, was one of a number of people who had campaigned for the number of CPTs to increase across the country. He told the BBC the new facilities would “make such a difference” for about 250,000 people who will have access to hoists, changing benches and space for carers.
Mr Kerr said they were “quite simply life-changing”, as without them, he faced the choice of “staying at home or restricting my social life because of my needs”.
“No-one should have to face these decisions because of the lack of basic toilet facilities,” he said.
The BBC also spoke to Lorna Fillingham, from Ashby in Lincolnshire, who had campaigned for more facilities after struggling to find sites that were suitable for her 12-year-old daughter.
She said: “In the 21st century, nobody should be isolated in their homes because of a lack of an accessible toilet, and nobody should have to be laid on a public toilet floor. So we are thrilled after all our campaigning that the number of these toilets is going to increase.”
A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) spokesperson said there were currently about 1,300 facilities across the country, but “demand for provision is outstripping supply and the number of CPTs needs to increase to improve access for severely disabled people and their carers”.
He said the facilities would be delivered in partnership with the charity Muscular Dystrophy UK (MDUK).
