Concerns raised over plans to close public toilets

Concerns have been raised about council plans to close a number of public toilets in the North-east.

Aberdeenshire Council is set to close 23 toilets in a bid to save more than £300,000.

At present it costs the local authority around £1 million to run toilets and it wants to reduce that by around one third.

But today residents said they were outraged that there was no discussion with the communities before the decision was made.

Public toilets in areas such as Fetterangus, New Deer, Strichen, Fyvie, Gourdon, St Cyrus, Tarland and Crimond are set to be shut. Longside’s Main Street toilet will also be closing.

Roger Bryce, chairman of Longside and District Community Council, said there had been no warning from the council about the closure.

He said: “They (Aberdeenshire Council) have not spoken to the community about it.

“Some advanced decision would have been better.”

It currently costs the council more than £50,000 a year to run an attended toilet while an unstaffed one costs just under £8,000.

A petition has been launched in Turriff after residents discovered toilets in The Haughs would not reopen after the winter.

Aberdeenshire Council said a number of the facilities could remain open through the involvement of the community.

A total of 58 facilities across Aberdeenshire will remain open.

Head of Property and Facilities Management Allan Whyte said: “While we appreciate the benefit of a rural public toilet to visitors and local residents, maintaining such a large network across Aberdeenshire is an increasing challenge.

“The fact is, several of our facilities are in poor condition and a number are rarely used and we have to make sure we are making the best use of the funding available.”