Highland councillors yesterday accepted a wide-ranging review of public toilet provision in the region, incorporating rationalisation measures designed to save £491,000.
Council officers undertook the review over the summer in response to community concerns sparked by cost-cutting measures announced in last February’s budget.
At that time, the council said it wanted to rationalise toilet provision, with a list of 29 public conveniences earmarked for closure.
Hard hit was north-west Sutherland, which stood to lose nine out of the 29 in an area increasingly popular with tourists.
A hard-fought Save Our Loos campaign by residents was instrumental in forcing a council re-think, with all threatened toilets reprieved until the end of this month.
The review encompassed a stock take of all loos accessible to the public in Highland.
Including Highland Council’s own 94 toilets, and 28 comfort schemes (based in hotels, for example) a map of 191 toilets was identified, with 90% being accessible within a 15 minute drive, the report says.
Of the 29 threatened toilets, only three are definitely closing – Kinlochbervie, Burnfield Grantown and Mealmarket Close, Inverness. Another seven are being looked at for asset-transfer to community or other groups, and five will go on the market for sale as loos.
Nine other facilities will stay open and remain council-run.
The future of seasonal facilities in Caithness are under discussion with local councillors.
North, West and Central Sutherland councillor Linda Munro said the picture was significantly improved since February, but “as ever the devil is in the detail”.
“You can understand why the idea of going without toilets put the communities first into a panic and then into fury. But everybody knows the financial position.”
She described the report as ‘an excellent baseline’, with the detail of the best way forward coming from local people.
Save Our Loos campaigners Christine Perrera and Margaret Meek travelled to Inverness to attend the meeting.
Kinlochbervie-based Mrs Meek said: “I agree that the devil is in the detail. A lot of work went into the report, that is evident.
“A real effort has been made to find a solution for those 29 toilets.
“There are lots of grey areas, and it’s not clear what will happen if groups fail to come forward and take toilets over.
“I’m disappointed that Kinlochbervie is going to close, but really, really happy that six toilets in Ward 1 are staying open.”
Councillor Allan Henderson, chairman of Environment, Development and Infrastructure said: “Great work has been done in communities.
“We’re creating mobile cleaning teams with 18 full-time jobs, and we’re offering to put people through their driving tests.
“This report should enable every single councillor to be fully informed and go back to your communities and give them the assurance they will have a facility.”
