Council admits struggle to keep public loos clean

Dirty – cuts mean cleaner only comes once a day Vandalism – toilets also being targeted by criminals

Budget cuts are threatening the viability of Fife Council’s public toilets.

Twelve of the local authority’s 30 conveniences are cleaned just once a day, it has emerged.

The news has prompted concerns about the knock-on effect on tourism.

Howe of Fife and Tay Coast Councillor David MacDiarmid said the toilets in Falkland, closed due to vandalism yesterday, were in an “appalling state”.

Theft of items such as toilet paper is also a problem.

The council’s Ken Gourlay said: “We struggle to maintain the public conveniences at the moment because what we have in place provides for one clean per day. So it can be pristine at 10am, say, and then by 10.30am it can be dirty, so it’s fair to say we are struggling to maintain the toilets to the level we would want them to be.”

Those who need to ‘spend a penny’ in Fife Council-maintained public toilets run a greater risk than ever of finding them in a sorry state because of budget cuts, councillors have been told.

Members of Fife’s environment, protective services and community safety committee heard stretched resources mean 12 of the local authority’s 30 conveniences are now cleaned only once a day, prompting concern about their general condition.

Many of the region’s toilets would have been manned in the past, but the need for services to make savings has effectively put paid to those days.

The issue of funding for public conveniences was raised by Howe of Fife and Tay Coast councillor David MacDiarmid, who queried the situation regarding the pay-per-use toilets in Falkland following recent complaints.

“The convenience in Falkland is in an appalling state,” he said.

“The ladies was vandalised so many were having to use the gents which was absolutely stinking.

“When we get thousands of visitors – foreign visitors – to places like Falkland, it’s something that really needs to be looked at.”

Ken Gourlay, head of the council’s assets, transportation and environment service, acknowledged the difficulty the local authority has in the current climate in keeping the lavatories clean.

“We struggle to maintain the public conveniences at the moment because what we have in place provides for one clean per day,” he said.

“So it can be pristine at 10am, say, and then by 10.30am it can be dirty, so it’s fair to say we are struggling to maintain the toilets to the level we would want them to be.”

Mr Gourlay added that the problem was often exacerbated by vandalism and people stealing “public consumables” such as toilet paper from some of the toilet blocks.

Angus Thomson, senior manager in the facilities management service, stressed the majority of the council maintained toilets were still cleaned twice a day, although he noted the most often used toilets are those that are typically cleaned most frequently.

“Fife Council works hard to keep public conveniences open and in good order for the use of residents and visitors,” he said.

“This is achieved under reduced budgets, and supported by coinoperated entry systems.

“We continue to look at improvements to our cleaning regime and rely on the public using the facilities responsibly.”

Meanwhile, a summary of budget savings presented to committee confirmed that the council was on track to save around £35,000 by not renewing the lease of five public conveniences between now and 2019, although the exact locations of those has not been divulged.

The convenience in Falkland is in an appalling state. COUNCILLOR DAVID MACDIARMID

Picture: Steven Brown. The ladies toilets in Falkland were closed due to vandalism.