Having at least one toilet in your place of worship increases the potential for welcoming visitors and the wider community into the building, as well as being a useful facility for worshippers.

Any new toilet should be designed with access for people with disabilities in mind.  This factsheet sets out the key considerations and gives dimensions for wheelchair accessible toilets.

You may find it easier to raise funds for toilet facilities if you intend widening the use of the building at the same time.  If the toilet is important to enable the proposed activities to take place you may be able to secure some funding through a grant towards those activities.

Providing toilet facilities is more challenging for buildings which lack mains drainage or even mains water.  This advice from Churchcare is relevant here.

Click here for examples of various toilets e.g. Matterdale Church's composting toilet and Hawes Junction Methodist Chapel's rain water harvested WC.

This paper, originally commissioned by Gloucester CofE Diocese, provides detailed advice on trench arch systems.  These systems are a way of installing a WC in a church where there is no suitable mains drainage.  They can be a cheaper and less intrusive alternative to septic tanks and are also potentially less damaging to archaeology.  A shallow channel is dug (e.g. under the path) into which the toilet waste is discharged.  The fluid disperses into the surrounding ground whilst the solids are broken down by worms.

Because trench arch systems are new to Cumbria, some local planning authorities might be cautious about your plans to install one.  For help in getting permission, click here.