Scottish Borders Council has outlined new proposals for how it intends to manage and maintain all public toilet facilities moving forward.
The proposals makes permanent the current operating model of 27 facilities, outlines a plan to scope and implement a phased refurbishment programme and sets out the Council’s commitment to exploring further opportunities to support communities to run sustainable new or additional facilities.
Within the plans is a commitment to operate one facility for each major existing settlement or location which can be supplemented by community-led facilities and local comfort schemes.
The Council will now undertake a process of offloading the remaining 14 public toilet assets which will not reopen and have been closed since the beginning of COVID-19 in 2020.
These facilities will be demolished or disposed of via community asset transfer, sale or lease in order to make property-related savings. Through this process each facility will be assessed on an individual basis to determine the best outcome for each property and the surrounding communities.
Moving forward, the cleaning regime for all facilities will revert back to one clean per day, in line with pre-covid levels.
Councillor John Greenwell, Executive Member for Roads Development and Maintenance, said: “Public toilets are an invaluable asset for communities, providing many benefits to a wide range of people. As a Council we are committed to finding a sustainable solution for the long term provision of public toilets which secures their future for many years to come and provides the public with a safe, clean and easily accessible service. These proposals will not only maintain this vital service but also allow us to significantly improve the 27 facilities we currently operate through investment and refurbishments. There is also a renewed commitment from the Council to work cooperatively with local communities across the Borders to identify and progress community-led toilet facilities and comfort schemes.”
For information on public toilets currently open, please visit the SBC Website.