Lock change is key to opening disabled loos
U-turn means toilets accessible
Disabled toilets at Callander’s Station Road car park will soon be ‘back on the RADAR’ after being targeted by vandals.
Up until earlier this year, the loos had been fitted with a RADAR key operated lock.
This is a UK wide scheme that provides people, with a range of medical problems and disabilities, with access to toilets at any time providing they have a RADAR key.
Locations of RADAR key operated toilets are advertised through the scheme so people would expect to find one in Callander – a magnet for visitors all the year round.
However, in February the disabled toilets were vandalised and Stirling Council officials took the decision to replace the RADAR operated lock with a mortice lock because of concerns over cost and worries about further vandalism.
The loos were then open and closed at the same time as the other toilets at the car park and weren’t accessible 24/7 as they had been under the RADAR scheme. It also meant the disabled toilet was available to all during opening times and was again the focus of vandals, leaving the toilets on occasions unusable until they were cleaned.
Disabled access group Accessible Callander contacted Trossachs and Teith councillor Martin Earl about the lock change.
Both Accessible Callander members and the Trossachs Mobility group demanded the lock be changed to ensure all those with a RADAR key can once again get access to the toilets.
Councillor Earl said it had been finally agreed this week that the lock would be changed to a RADAR system. He added: “It should not have taken this much effort and this long to get it sorted out. If there is a problem with vandalism we should not give in to the mindless idiots that cause damage to a disabled toilet as these facilities are absolutely vital for many people and access must be maintained. Indeed I want to see many more if we are to be a truly accessible area.”
Accessible Callander representative Marilyn Moore said: “How can Callander contemplate embarking on a major tourism initiative for accessible tourism, a scheme which Stirling Council supports, if we do not even have a usable accessible RADAR key toilet for the very market we are aiming to attract?”
Gordon Wilson, of Trossachs Mobility,which provides allterrain vehicles for those with limited mobility, added: “I would challenge anyone to come and spend the day with us as a disabled person and maybe then they will understand just how vital being able to use one of these facilities is.”
A Stirling Council spokesperson said: “The lock mechanism was initially changed following repeated acts of vandalism.
“Works are now being undertaken to reinstate the RADAR lock at Callander public toilets.”