No toilets an inconvenience

Sir,

When will Argyll and Bute council recognise that Kintyre is a tourist destination?

Public conveniences are not a luxury but an absolute necessity for visitors and locals

alike. A short term saving by closing toilets could well result in a huge ‘inconvenience’ for our many visitors.

If visitor numbers drop, this could lead to the closure of local businesses who rely on the tourists.

Closure of businesses would greatly reduce the council tax taken by the council, resulting in an overall loss of income for it.

Rather than considering closing public conveniences, the council should be considering providing more.

It is a criminal offence to urinate in a public place, and closure of toilet facilities puts visitors and locals in a very difficult position.

Areas such as Southend, Machrihanish, Carradale etc are very remote and no other public convenience would be available for many miles.

Many people who enjoy a walk on the beach are quite elderly, meaning the need for a toilet can be more acute.

Tourism brings a huge income to the area and visitors should be given an overall satisfactory experience wherever they are and be encouraged to return.

It is with amazement that I read that Argyll and Bute council is considering spending an estimated £7m on making a National Park in Argyll, when they cannot maintain the infrastructure that is already in place.

Notwithstanding this, they are excluding Kintyre in this plan.

I say an estimate, but we all know what happens when a project is started, the costs soar!

I have to ask, which school of thought did our councillors attend. John Bakes, Southend.