Mayor backs toilet twinning campaign for Bishop's Stortford

The mayor is to spend more than a penny as part of plan to make Bishop’s Stortford a 'toilet twinned town'.

Cllr George Cutting will use £60 from his allowance as civic leader to pair the newly-revamped Market Square public conveniences with facilities in the developing world.

He has been championing a campaign by Stortford resident Chris Webb to put the town on the map. Chris, a sustainability manager for a construction company, was inspired when he spotted a certificate from the Tearfund project in a café in London and decided to twin his own toilet in Bartholomew Road.

For £60, donors twin their own loo with an impoverished family’s household latrine in a country of their choosing. In return for the money, participants get a certificate complete with a photograph and GPS co-ordinates of the twin so they can locate it on Google Maps. Elsewhere in the country, businesses like Nando’s and McDonald’s have sponsored public conveniences.

Mr Webb wants Stortford to sponsor at least 20 toilets to earn the Toilet Twinned Town title. The mayor wanted the council to lead the way but its funds can only be used for the benefit of Bishop’s Stortford, not overseas. Cllr Cutting has yet to decide which country will benefit from his sponsorship.

Bishop’s Stortford is already on the www.toilettwinning.org map thanks to their efforts. Skelmersdale in Lancashire was the first Toilet Twinned Town in 2015.