Frustration growing as public toilet saga continues

Visitors to Crail who might want to a spend a penny at public conveniences have been left in the lurch for almost 10 months – sparking anger from the community.

A fire at Westgate public toilets on May 10 last year forced Fife Council to close the facilities to carry out repairs, but the toilet block has remained shut ever since.

A Freedom of Information request by Crail Community Council has now revealed that, to date, repairs have amounted to 670 working hours and £19,584.16 costs in terms of labour and materials, prompting renewed questions about why the work has not been finished.

The FOI request also revealed that the final bill for work to the toilets is expected to come to an eye-watering £41,671.10.

After initially saying the toilets would be fixed after the summer holidays, Fife Council told the community council that the toilets would be completed by the end of February – but so far that has failed to come to fruition.

Heather Aird, a community council member, said: “Why should toilets for tourists be compromised in a holiday seaside town?

“I think it is safe to say that if the toilets in Fife House broke, they would be fixed within a matter of hours.

“Is Crail being discriminated against? Anstruther public toilets were shut on the February 13 after vandalism, and fair enough the damage to be repaired wasn’t as much as Crail, but they were reopened – and fixed – by February 19.

“This merely raises the question ‘which February?’ as, surprise, surprise, they are still not open.”