Ever wondered where all the public toilets have gone when you’re caught short out and about?
Between 2010 and 2015, it was reported that a third of public loos in Greater Manchester closed due to cuts.
The shortage became even more apparent during lockdown - when people couldn’t just take advantage of the free loos in M&S or the Arndale.
In May last year, temporary public toilets were even installed in Piccadilly Gardens in a bid to make the city centre 'as welcoming as possible' as coronavirus restrictions were eased.
But what has happened to all of Greater Manchester’s long lost public loos?
Some have been demolished - but many have found a new lease of life.
You can order a taxi, drink a pint of lager in an underground bar, and even eat turmeric scrambled tofu on sourdough toast in former public toilets in Greater Manchester.
Prestwich - taxi company
These former public toilets are attached to the back of the The White Horse on Bury New Road.
In fact, it was the building's proximity to pubs and bars that made it so appealing to Magnum Whiteline taxis around 30 years ago.
"I think at the time it was in the centre of all the pubs in Prestwich," manager Damian Robinson told the Manchester Evening News.
He said that the building is actually owned by Joseph Holt Brewery and that he can't make changes to it as it's listed.
"We can't take the gents or the ladies off it. We can put our sign up, but other than that we can't make any changes to it," he explained.
So do people ever try to make their way into the taxi offices looking for a toilet?
"No, it's been there such a long time so people know it's Magnum," Damian said.
Whalley Range - vegan café
This roadside vegan café, at the very top of Withington Road in South Manchester, is one of the most newly-converted public toilets.
"My auntie bought the property but she didn't really know what to do with it," said Devine Wellness's manager, Paul Costello.
"That's when I got the idea of it being a vegan café," he said.
Paul says that business has been going well so far and that they're just about to start doing yoga brunches.
He said that as a lot of his customers are local they all know it used to be public toilets. - but that 'a few people are surprised when you tell them'.
"We've covered up the old building really," he explained.
City Centre - underground bar
This has got to be the most famous converted toilets in Manchester. Or at least, one of the places that shouts about it the most.
The Temple proudly describes itself as being a 'little bar in a repurposed Victorian public toilet offering a global beer selection and a jukebox'.
"It's a unique selling point," manager Max Clemmet told the M.E.N.
Everyone who knows Manchester will be familiar with the tiny drinking den - or at least the outside of it.
The bar's striking logo and a staircase leading underground is pretty much all you can see from the outside.
Max said that people have to make their way down those stairs to understand what Temple is about.
"I don't think any words can actually describe it," he said.
He said The Temple (Temple of Convenience) first opened in 1996 and that the council had been planning to fill in the toilets with concrete.
"That's when we asked if it was possible to open it up as a bar," he explained.
Max said that the first thing people usually say is that they can't believe the bar is even there.
The second? Whether there are still any toilets.
"There are, and they're just as unique," he said.
Northern Quarter - art project
Everyone who has ever been to Stevenson Square will know this former bog from the brilliant ever-changing artworks painted on it.
Whether people actually realise what it once was is another question.
Out House has attracted some of the region’s most prolific and edgy artists to Stevenson Square in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
Under the scheme, the derelict loo block is repainted with new images every three months – constantly changing the square’s character.
Out House was founded by Manchester artists Tasha Whittle and Lois Macdonald.
Fellow artist Ben Harrison took over from Lois and, with Tasha, the pair act as curators for the toilet building.
They invite leading street artists from across the North West and further afield to visit the square and leave their own work on the walls.
Tasha, an artist and illustrator based in Chorlton, spoke to the M.E.N when the project reached its third anniversary.
She said: “When you start something you never really know how it’s going to go.
“My intention was to utilise space that was not being used.
“In the past I think people had painted on it (the toilet block) but it could be there for two years and nothing was really changing. We just took the opportunity.”
Didsbury - future hairdressers
The public toilets on Barlow Moor Road near Didsbury are set to be transformed into a hairdressers.
This comes after change of use plans were approved to turn the 'former public convenience' into a hairdressers and beauty shop in December.
A heritage statement submitted to the council as part of the application said: "The building is currently neglected and closed and falling into disrepair.
"This plan will bring a building back into use in a key part of the heart of Didsbury village.
"The building will also be maintained to a high standard. This will enhance a declining building thus preserving it."
