Cash-strapped councils have closed hundreds of public loos across the country to make savings in recent years – and sometimes costs are not the only factor. One toilet in South Manchester, which has stood derelict for more than a decade, was closed down after reports of 'cottaging' taking place in the toilets.
But now, the old toilets in Northenden Riverside Park, which had been used as a meeting place for gay men for years before it was shut down, could be brought back into use – as a café.
Pub landlord John Rogers has had the green light from Manchester council to turn the block off Mill Lane into an environmentally-friendly vegetarian café. Once open, The Cloakroom Café will sell local plant-based products, some sourced from herbs, fruits and vegetables growing on the site itself.
