MP pushes Sainsbury’s to reconsider toilet decision
23/05/2025
Sean Woodcock has now written to the supermarket about the matter twice
Banbury’s MP has written to Sainsbury’s Supermarket to ask them to reconsider their decision to close off the general public toilets at their Oxford Road store in Banbury.
It’s the second time Sean Woodcock has contacted the supermarket’s Head Office over the matter. Since his first correspondence with them in February Mr Woodcock has been contacted by more people about the problems the closure has caused for them.
In his letter he said: “I am especially concerned by the impact on older people, those with young children, and people with medical conditions that mean that they may need to access toilets in a hurry.”
Sainsbury’s have defended their decision to close off their public toilets due to persistent misuse by some customers.
In his latest letter Mr Woodcock hopes the supermarket can find a way round the problem as he believes some customers can no longer shop there.
He wrote: “I am aware that your company is not obliged to provide customer toilet facilities, but I am disappointed that you have not been willing to reconsider the decision to close your store’s toilets in response to the voices of your customers. A number of constituents have told me that they no longer feel able to use your store due to the lack of toilets.
“Given the amount of upset that the closure has caused I am asking you to reconsider this decision, and to consider whether if may be possible to make other arrangements to prevent the misuse of this facility.”
But Sainsbury’s doesn’t appear to be backing down. A spokesperson for the supermarket told Banbury FM: “The safety of our customers and colleagues is our highest priority and due to ongoing challenges with misuse and anti-social behaviour, we made the difficult decision to close some of the customer toilets at our Banbury store.
“An accessible toilet remains available in store for customers who may need it, with our colleagues on hand to provide access.”
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
