London council spent £13,400 making public toilets gender neutral

Kingston Council paid thousands to make toilets at Latchmere Recreation Ground in Battersea gender neutral

The Conservatives have pledged to amend the Equality Act to define sex as ‘biological sex’ (Yui Mok/PA)

PA Wire

A London council led by the Liberal Democrats spent £13,400 converting a public lavatory block into a gender-neutral facility.

Kingston Council, run by the Lib Dems, paid thousands to make toilets at Latchmere Recreation Ground in Battersea, south London, gender neutral in 2021, according to details obtained by The Telegraph through a Freedom of Information request.

The revelation comes days after the Supreme Court ruled that transgender women are not legally classified as women and do not have an automatic right to access female-only facilities. The court confirmed that single-sex spaces are permissible under the Equality Act when they serve legitimate aims such as ensuring women's safety, privacy, and dignity.

Sir Ed Davey, MP for Kingston and Surbiton, previously sparked controversy by suggesting in an LBC radio interview last May that women could "quite clearly" have penises.

Leading barristers said this week that installing separate gender-neutral toilets alongside single-sex facilities could be the simplest way for councils and organisations to remain compliant with the law while respecting transgender preferences.

However, some politicians warn that adding additional unisex lavatories puts unnecessary financial pressure on taxpayers. Kevin Hollinrake, the Conservative shadow communities secretary, accused Kingston Council of "squandering" taxpayer funds.

"The Liberal Democrat-run Kingston Council squandered £13,000 of taxpayers' money on gender-neutral toilet conversions, all while imposing a 5 per cent council tax hike, making Kingston the most expensive borough in London," said Mr Hollinrake.

"At a time when families are grappling with rising living costs, this is not just poor judgment, it's a flagrant disregard for the priorities of hard-working people."

Conservative MP John Hayes, chairman of the Common Sense Society, said simply: "The whole thing stinks."

A Liberal Democrat spokesperson said:"This is breathtaking hypocrisy from the Conservatives whose own government and councils also had to bring in gender neutral toilets.