Residents in Turriff are not happy after the local authority closed down a public convenience near a children’s play park.
As part of a cost-cutting exercise, Aberdeenshire Council last night confirmed that the doors would remain locked on toilets at the Haughs until a new group could come forward to take on the duties of manning the facility.
The town’s community council first discovered the toilet block was closed on Monday, when Formartine area manager Elaine Brown said the move had been prompted by a “lack of use”.
Last night, the council’s head of facilities management, Allan Whyte, stressed the authority ran 81 public toilets – the second highest number in Scotland.
“This places a significant burden on the council in terms of running costs,” he said.
“As well as keeping our facilities clean we also need to maintain water and electricity supplies and we have no way of recovering our costs for seasonal facilities such as the Haughs.
“The building will remain for the meantime while we consider our future options, and we’d be interested to hear from any individuals or community groups that may be interested in taking over the running of the facility.”
He has also invited local businesses to open their doors to the public as part of a “comfort partnership” with the authority.
The closure means Turriff now only has one public toilet – on High Street.
Earlier this year the council approved planning permission for a former facility on Duff Street to be converted into a house.
And the Scottish Government later approved an appeal which could mean that a takeaway would instead be built on the site.
The toilets on High Street are free to use.
The community council has now asked the area manager to find out if the Haughs facility could be reopened for special events, such as the annual Turriff Show.
One local parent said: “It’s not very easy with three small children to rush them all that way from the playpark to use a toilet.”
