Must consider sticking points around ‘inclusion’

INCLUSION is the great catchcry at the moment.

And while we’ve made great inroads into the inclusion of disadvantaged groups, especially people with a disability and other marginalised groups, there are excesses around the edges and at the weekend we saw FINA make its ruling effectively banning transgender athletes competing in women’s events.

Fair enough. It would have wrecked the sport.

It proves we’ve got to be able to talk about the issues and not just accept the woke avalanche that tends to engulf issues such as ‘inclusion’.

Take the new-age approach to the design, construction, and function of public toilets for example.

And we saw a case in point at the Sale Football Ground last Saturday, which hosted the match of the day between Wonthaggi and Sale.

But it’s probably the same at the unisex toilet block at the Cowes public transport interchange.

Situated in between the changerooms and the public bar/grandstand area at Sale is a handsome new amenities block but because of the new inclusion mandate, the big building was only able to be divided into four all-services cubicles offering male, female, disabled and baby change facilities in each one – no urinal.

The predictable result was that some of the blokes standing around the bar and in the grandstand had urinated all over the floor and the seats making it a very unpleasant if not impossible experience for women wanting to use the same cubicles.

And ask your mother or grandmother if she wants to be brushing past some big, hairy bloke as she comes out of the public toilet or be concerned that someone might come in if she hasn’t closed the latch properly.

Come on. It’s gone too far.

Public toilets need to be designed for their purpose. A toilet block should have a separate, women-only section with more pans, a men-only section with urinal and a few pans and one disabled/family services toilet.

Think about it people – design and build for purpose not politics!