Public toilets in Falkirk to close

Public toilets across Falkirk district will close once the council reaches agreement with companies in town centres to provide facilities.

Proposals to shut all loos in the district were put forward to Falkirk Council’s administration in 2015 in a bid to save £361,000 annually as part of a wider £25 million cuts agenda over the next year along with 700 job cuts.

The toilets are in Glebe Street, Falkirk; York Lane, Grangemouth: Register Street, Bo’ness: Church Walk, Denny; automatic toilets at Main Street, Camelon; Main Street, Polmont; Union Road, Grangemouth; York Lane, Grangemouth; Falkirk Bus Station; Bonnybridge High Street; Stirling Street, Denny; East Pier Street Bus Station, Bo’ness; Provost Road, Bo’ness.

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Falkirk Community Trust toilets at The Helix and Callendar Park will remain.

The other amenities will stay open for the time being but only until the council is in a position to provide a “comfort scheme” which involves the likes of supermarkets, shops and organisations in towns agreeing to accept the public using their conveniences.

Council leader Councillor Craig Martin said: “Public toilets will remain open until we can agree a comfort scheme with private companies or organisations.

“At the moment I believe we have around nine parties who are keen to sign up, which would actually be more places for people to use which would be an enhancement.

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“These schemes are working successfully in more and more places across the country such as Perth and Aberdeen. The public toilets we have at the moment will close but not until the comfort scheme is up and running.”

Some of the toilets in the district have been costing the council a fortune to run.

The automatic toilet in Provost Road, Bo’ness set the council back £18,000 a year to run but used just three times a day on average – working out at £21 a flush.

Taxi driver Christine Gray, who started a petition to save the toilets said a comfort scheme would be a “disaster” for residents and businesses.

She said: “I’m absolutely shocked at this decision. We were told the toilets were staying open.”

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