Have say on future of toilets
Crieff CC and CCT join forces for loo consultation
Two Crieff organisations have joined forces to carry out a consultation in relation to the future of the town’s public toilets.
Crieff Community Council and Crieff Community Trust have produced a survey designed to gauge people’s interest in retaining the James Square conveniences.
The 13-question document is available now by scanning a specially-created QR, while printed versions of the questionnaire will also be available from a variety of Crieff outlets from Friday, May 3.
As part of the annual budget process in March, Perth and Kinross Council agreed an £85,000 saving in relation to public loos following a review of usage and operating costs.
As a result, four public conveniences were officially declared surplus to requirements from March 31 – including the toilets in Crieff.
In a joint statement released this week, Crieff Community Council and Crieff Community Trust said: “Anecdotal evidence suggests overwhelming support for keeping the toilets open.
“When you consider that Crieff is not only a major tourist town but home to an everincreasing elderly population, that’s hardly surprising.
“However, if we are to jointly seek a permanent solution that will keep the toilets open, we need to formally consult the whole community and get its opinions.
“The response from the business sector will be of the utmost importance, since tourism is essential to keep our shop doors open, our hospitality providers in business, and many from our local community in work.
“With stringent cutbacks in local government spending, we can no longer take for granted the provision of public toilets and other essential services.
“If we want them, we need to find ways of providing them ourselves.
“That means attracting support and commitment from the sector whose economic livelihood is largely dependent upon visitors – who are largely dependent upon toilets.”
PKC previously invited community groups in the region to “think about options for giving a new lease of life” to public toilet buildings.
Three of the four recently-closed facilities – in Auchterarder, Marshall Place in Perth and the ones in Crieff – previously operated on a seasonal basis and effectively closed last year.
The fourth, in Blairgowrie’s Wellmeadow, was non-seasonal and initially remained operational until the end of March.
Since then, Blairgowrie and Rattray Development Trust (BRDT) finalised an agreement with PKC to lease the town’s premises, enabling the community to take over the management and running of the public toilets.
PKC has committed to keeping the toilets open until the transfer to BRDT is complete.
Elsewhere, the local authority is now consulting with groups over what to do with the vacant building in Auchterarder and has received two expressions of interest.
One of the proposals is from Cash Access UK and relates to the creation of a banking hub.
The other is from Auchterarder Picturehouse Crew, which is seeking to retain the toilets and create an art gallery on the site.
The cut-off date for completed surveys in relation to the Crieff toilets is May 31.
They can be handed in to Strathearn Community Campus or the new Crieff and Strathearn Museum in the Old Town Hall, which opens this weekend.
If the Old Town Hall is closed, respondents are asked to post their forms through the High Street venue’s letter box.