No plans to reopen third of Scottish Border public toilets following lockdown closure

Councillor Fay Sinclair, for Galashiels and District, brought the issue up at a full council meeting. Credit: PA Images

A Scottish Border councillor has spoken out about the lack of public toilets in one of the region's towns.

Galashiels only has one public toilet open after they closed during the pandemic.

During lockdown, the Scottish Borders Council closed all 41 of the area’s public toilets but 27, including all disabled toilets, have reopened.

It means a third of all facilities still remain closed.

Councillor Fay Sinclair, for Galashiels and District, brought the issue up at a full council meeting.

  • Video report by Bairbre Holmes.

She said: "The public should be involved in these discussions, this is their public services and I don't think it is right that they can just closed indefinitely without any sort of discussion or public engagement at all.

"The ones in Bank Street for example, there's signs saying they're closed on the disabled toilet yet the council's saying that the disabled toilets are open.

"I think people just need a bit of clarity about where they can access, because particularly people who've got medical needs, they do plan their days and their visits around where and when they can access facilities and the lack of clarity is really causing a lot of anxiety for people."

The Scottish Border Council said: “Scottish Borders Council has 41 public toilets, distributed across 29 settlements and communities. 

"Fourteen of these remain closed following the pandemic and all disabled toilets are open. 

"At a time when we are facing unprecedented financial and staffing pressures, we have no plans at this juncture to open a further 14 facilities incurring additional electricity, water, rates and cleaning costs that are not reflected in the council’s budget.” 

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To know...