Highlands best for public toilets? What a farce, says Wick community council chairperson
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A survey claiming the Highland region is the best place in the UK for public toilets has been branded "a bit of a farce" by a community leader in Wick.
The survey was carried out by PlumbNation, a plumbing and heating supplies company. But its findings have plumbed the depths as far as Joanna Coghill is concerned.
Mrs Coghill is chairperson of the Royal Burgh of Wick Community Council – and was made aware of PlumbNation's Public Toilet Index 2021 in the same week that she and her colleagues had been lamenting the complete lack of available public toilets in the town.
"The loo crown for the Highlands is a bit of a farce – we do not have one public convenience in Wick that is open," Mrs Coghill said. "We have had to be cross-legged for so long now."
Local Highland councillors are pressing for the Whitechapel Road public conveniences in the town centre to be brought back into use as soon as possible – or, as a temporary alternative, a reopening of the Camps toilets at the eastern end of High Street.
"I understand the reason for the closure of Whitechapel Road – vandalism," Mrs Coghill said. "But they also closed the Camps toilets, as they were outdated, not up to standard and with much work required. This left us all on the hop.
"They should have the loos in Whitechapel Road manned as they used to be – this would stop the vandals.
"I know that our Highland councillors Raymond Bremner and Nicola Sinclair are pushing for the Whitechapel ones to be reopened as soon as possible, but that doesn't help right now – it doesn't help any of us locals out walking.
"And now that the local shops are open again, going 'doon ’e toon' needs careful planning, especially for the elderly who are now venturing out and about after lockdown.
"Even with restrictions lifting, visitors to our town have no access to public loos. This is really inconvenient, and also inconsiderate from local residents' point of view, and will not encourage visitors to stop and enjoy our town."
The PlumbNation survey calculated that Highland region had the most public toilets with a total of 257 public toilets, 216 of these being open – giving a score of 9.2/10 for open toilets per 10,000 population.
It was followed by Dumfries and Galloway with 96 public toilets (81 open), generating a score of 5.4/10 for open toilets. Cornwall was third with a rating of of 5.2/10.
At this week's community council meeting, Councillor Bremner said: “It’s not acceptable that Wick as a town of 7500 people does not have an accessible public convenience.”
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