Sutherland residents are kicking up a stink over Highland Council’s latest move in their battle to save the public loos in their area.
They heard yesterday that cleaners who look after the facilities are being called to meetings over the next few days to discuss their redundancies.
Furious residents say this signals that the council has no intention of keeping the toilets open.
Decision relating to public toilet closure delayed by Highland Council
The council has earmarked nine public toilets for closure in north-west Sutherland but says they can be saved if the community takes them on.
Officials said last week a review of the service was still under way, with a closure reprieve until the end of October.
But Kinlochbervie resident Margaret Meek, who is spearheading a campaign to save the toilets, said calling the cleaners in to discuss their redundancy while the review was still ongoing means the council has no intention of keeping the toilets open.
She said: “A few weeks ago I emailed 18 community groups and business from Elphin to Durness, 15 replied.
“It turns out none have been contacted by Highland Council about Asset Transfer or the Highland Comfort Scheme.
“So they’re not trying very hard to work with communities, which they constantly claim.”
The council says the options on offer to keep the toilets open could result in the cleaners losing their jobs and they are consulting them as a legal requirement.
It wants running the toilets, a non-statutory obligation, taken off its hands to save £67,000 a year in Sutherland.
The council says community groups could operate them or Comfort Schemes could be established allowing the public to use the loos in nearby businesses.
Other options include selling the properties on condition that the loos will be kept on, and charging to spend a penny.
If these options don’t work out, then the loos will close, councillor Allan Henderson, chairman of Environment, Development and Infrastructure said yesterday.
He said: “We have said every option would be explored with communities but if an alternative option to closure could not be found before the end of October 2018 then we would have no option but to close those facilities.
“However, this is not about closing toilets per se and we all need to stop talking this language.”
A public meeting in Kinlochbervie Hall tonight to discuss the closures will not go off quietly, residents have promised.
Julian Pearce of The Shorehouse Seafood Restaurant in Tarbet said: “In a questionnaire last year we said we felt people would be prepared to pay up to 50p to use the toilets but the council didn’t even look at installing the meters, which would have covered the running costs.”
From Scourie community council, Donald Fisher says he will tell the officials that the whole community is against the ‘appalling’ decisions the council has made without proper thought or consultation.
Mr Fisher said: “We are going to make our feelings known. We will not allow these frankly stupid and ill-conceived closures to happen.”
Mr Fisher is a tour guide, working with cruise ships dropping anchor in Kinlochbervie.
He said: “They simply won’t come here when they find out there are no toilets.”