Volunteers say Grangemouth market is bringing life back to town centre

The volunteers known as the Loo Crew – who reopened and run Grangemouth’s public toilets – were delighted to see more people coming to the town centre on Saturday to attend the market and car boot sale.

But the organisers say they are still keen to spread the word that they have decided to make the event more regular, taking place on the last Saturday of each month.

The charity – officially known as Grangemouth Community Hub – was formed by volunteers who took on ownership of the town’s toilets.

To raise funds for the upkeep of the loos, they now have a small charity shop in York Lane.

But organisers Pamela Young and June Ramage, along with a small team of volunteers, are also on a mission to bring people back into the town centre.

To help make this happen, they began holding seasonal markets in La Porte Precinct, which quickly became monthly events.

They have now added a car boot sale, which takes place in the large car park behind the shops.

Pamela admits that the first car boot sale was “very difficult to organise” and they hesitated before having another one.

But they were delighted that several people returned to support the event – not just those with things to sell but also customers looking for a bargain.

The Loo Crew’s hope now is that both the market and car boot sale will continue to get busier and attract more stalls and customers.

Pamela said: “I’m looking forward to the next one – it’s nice to see it all taking shape.”

And she is in no doubt that having public toilets is also bringing people back to the shops and giving the community a chance to get together.

“We also get lots of compliments about the toilets and how nicely they are kept which is lovely,” she said.

The next event, on Saturday, August 31, will run from 10 am until 3 pm, with a fun dog show at 2 pm.