Highland Council planning on giving Grantown’s High Street toilets the chop
Highland Council is planning to give its public toilets in Grantown the axe by the end of this year.
The town’s community council has said it has not been consulted over the move to close the High Street facilities.
Council officials are recommending the cost-saving in papers to go before local Highland Council’s Badenoch and Strathspey area committee meeting in the town this Monday.
Grantown Community Council secretary Ewan MacGregor told the Strathy: “We have not been consulted or informed of this proposal.
“This is the first time that I and my community council colleagues have heard of Highland Council’s intentions to close and dispose of the toilets.”
The watchdog was due to discuss the recommended closure at their latest meeting last night.
Debbie Sutton, the council’s strategic lead on community operations and logistics, states in the report: “During the rationalisation of public conveniences (PCs) in 2018 it was agreed that one council operated PC would remain open in Grantown.
“At that time the High Street facility remained open, and the Burnfield site closed.
“In 2023 there was a successful community asset transfer of the Burnfield PC to the Grantown Initiative and earlier this year the Burnfield PC reopened, being run by the community.
“Since then, monitoring of usage at the High Street site has shown reduced footfall and a discussion with members about the future provision of PCs in Grantown has taken place with the proposal to close the council operated site and provide support via the Comfort Scheme to the community operated facility.”
Local councillors are being asked to agree to the closure of the town’s High Street toilets from December 31 and to market them for sale.
The suuport for the Comfort Scheme is descrbed as being from January 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026.
Highland Council currently operates 74 public conveniences throughout the region.
The current cost to operate the Grantown facilities is around £10,176 per year.
The total income generated from the site since 2018 is £31,340.36.
Council officials have said supporting a Comfort Scheme at Grantown’s Burnfield facilities will cost £200 per month.
The council does not have a statutory responsibility to provide or operate public conveniences.
The report states: “There are negative impacts related to equalities, however, these are mitigated by the Burnfield public convenience being supported as a Comfort Scheme and with this site being only 500 metres away.”
The Burnfield toilets operates daily from 6.30am to 11pm, with a 50p entrance fee and all funds raised go towards the maintenance and management of the toilets.
The local authority also charges 50p for use of the High Street facility and £2 for the showers.
