Concern over lack of public toilets

A LACK of public toilets has prompted Highlands and Islands MSP Rhoda Grant to write to the chief executive of Highland Council Steve Barron and the chief executive of Visit Scotland Malcolm Roughead.

The worried MSP said: ‘ With cuts to council budgets, something had to give, but I am concerned that on one hand we are attracting more and more visitors to the area and showcasing the skills of many within our communities, but on the other hand we do not provide the basic public amenities to service a demand.

‘We have a unique and wonderful asset in our scenery across the Highlands and Islands. Each year we attract more and more visitors to the area.

‘ We have many excellent visitor attractions, some award-winning, yet when I am out and about across the Highlands and Skye for example, meeting constituents, I often get asked about the availability of, or lack of, public toilets. I have written to chief executives of Highland Council and Visit Scotland seeking the latest position with regard the number of council-managed toilet amenities and the take up of the Highland Comfort Scheme. The scheme operates at locations across the Highlands where a business or community facility receives a monthly payment to offset the cost of making their toilets available to the general public.’

Rhoda Grant concluded: ‘Tourism now more than ever is an asset that we need to capitalise on and if we are going to attract more tourists to the area, boosting the local economy, we should surely be providing public toilets.’