'Reopen Aberfeldy Public Lavatories' Call
According to Aberfeldy Community Council, the people of Aberfeldy have been trying for a staffed public toilet facility in the town for the last 20 years. It maintains that this is the only way to prevent the costly, regular vandalism of such services in the future.
A spokesman for the community council asserted: “Despite our continuous efforts, Perth & Kinross Council has ridden roughshod over the local community on this matter, so now we have only the Comfort Schemes”. He added that, under the new schemes, after 4pm on weekdays a public access facility is only available distant from the town centre.
Moreover, on Saturdays there is but a single toilet available between 7am and 10am, and just a strictly seasonal facility after 4pm at the putting green. Therefore there is no toilet, out of season, after 4pm. The situation is equally scant on Sundays.
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Post Closure Survey
On 6 June, prior to the recent meeting of the comunity council, and to obtain latest information on public reaction following the closure of the public toilets, a brief survey was conducted by a community councillor.
A regular coach driver to Aberfeldy, who brings people to the town of all ages and from many countries, knew nothing of the new Comfort Scheme or the closure of existing facilities. He was horrified. He asked if there was a map showing where the new facilities were – as there was not a sign in the coach park. He was advised that the Breadalbane Bakery was the nearest place and, because he knew it well, he asked if it had built an extension!
The opinion at the Tourist Information Centre was that “the whole place had blown up since the lavatory closure; that very few knew even where the Locus Centre was and the new situation is a “disaster for tourism.”
At the office of Aberfeldy Coach Services, which overlooks the former ladies toilets in Burnside, it was reported that people were seen urinating in the sttreets. “Because these toilets were closed and the Locus Centre was not open, pople did not know where else to go. Disabled people cannot even use a disabled toilet.”
Fearful that there will be what it describes as irrevocable losses to the town’s ‘vital tourist trade’, the community council is calling for urgent action. It believes that nothing less than the reopening of the public toilets is required until ‘a proper future plan is agreed taking the views of the community and out essential tourists into account.’
It has called upon MSP John Swinney, locally elected P&K members and the key local authority decisionmakers to address the crisis. It has also called for support from Visit Scotland, quoting an executive of that organisation as stressing that: “Visitors require services outwith the traditional opening times of 9-5pm.”
Visitor’s View
Describing himself as a senior citizen who is ‘urilogically challenged’ one visitor to Aberfeldy shared his experiences: “I parked in the well signposted car/coach park, and needed the loo. I looked at a tired old map of the town, and it showed toilets just off the Square, so I made my way up there. There I found a sign for ‘Publicly Available Toilet at the Locus Centre’. I used it and found it OK.
“On coming out I took a right and found the Public Toilets. I don’t know about the Ladies, but the Gents was in an awful state for any public toilet – whoever is responsible for the upkeep is not being responsible!”
The visitor then asked a local about the “Comfort Scheme” places and he was surprised at the places mentioned, particularly the Recreation Centre and the Putting Green. Both of these he deemed to be far too far away from the town centre to be convenient - particularly for coach visitors, who often have only an hour for their Aberfeldy stop.
“On my way back to the Car Park,” he continued, “I saw a sign ‘Publicly Available Toilet’ pointing to the Bakery. As this was the nearest to the car/coach park, I decided to check it out and found it to be a single loo for male and female use - certainly not a convenientce for any coach party arriving in the town.”
The visitor had been staying in Pitlochry where he knew there is a staffed toilet close by the car park, which “was small but adequate”.
“I found the people of Aberfeldy very friendly,” he concluded, “but do they really want tourists to visit and, more importantly, revisit with such poor toilet provision?”
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