Full consultation

Sir, I have read with interest the letters from Timothy Billings and Malcolm Kerr in last week’s Banner. I would like to address both.

The provision of public toilets on an island whose main source of income is tourism is very important for the reputation and therefore for the prosperity of the island.

It is patently obvious that North Ayrshire Council took the decision to withdraw funding purely for financial reasons. It seems to me that it was done in a peremptorily way without consulting local people and organisations, and almost as an afterthought they had this idea of handing over the responsibility to village improvement committees.

NAC should not have made any decisions about the public toilets without consulting fully with tourist organisations, village committees, and the businesses on Arran who depend on the tourist trade.

Though not particularly right wing, I fully support Timothy Billings’ efforts to at least get the council to see some sense. Malcolm Kerr’s attitude seems to me to be at once patronising and confrontational, and I would urge him to be more conciliatory for the good of the island.

Yours, Dr John Cruickshank Whiting Bay