15 July 2010

Muslim Public Loo Fury

FURY has erupted after a shopping centre became the first in Britain to introduce Muslim-only toilets. The Middle Eastern-style squat holes, just a hole in the ground, are common in Asia.

Two of the £200 “Nile pan” units have been put into the Exchange shopping centre in Rochdale, where one in five people is Asian.

But locals have blasted them as a waste of cash. One angry resident, Ellen Dean, 49, fumed: “I work in a bookies here and everyone who comes in is up in arms about them. [Daily Star] Read more

Cultural sensitivities spawn squat toilets in Rochdale shopping centre ROCHDALE’s Metropolitan Borough Council – clowncil may be a better word for it – has, for some time, been less than happy with the town’s reputation for being a total shithole.

Google “Rochdale is a shithole” and you’ll get 14,100 results – including a link to a Facebook page entitled “Rochdale might be a shithole but WE STILL LOVE IT!!!!!”

So last year they appointed Pam Smith as the authority’s new Executive Director for Transformation, who, according to this report, would: Strategically lead its cross-cutting transformation programme ‘Stepping Up’, and will oversee the council’s corporate services including finance, communications, customer services, policy, performance and organisational development. [The Freethinker] Read more