Call for Brora loos to be freshened up as community councillor says they are not 'pleasant' to visit
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A BRORA community councillor has called for the village's public toilets to be given a freshen up.
Diana Royce said that the Highland Council owned conveniences, located at the Co-op car park, were a “bit of a disgrace”.
She told the group’s virtual meeting last Tuesday: “They are enormously well used by both locals and tourists but they are not pleasant to visit."
She added: “There is nothing acutally wrong with them – they just need scraping off and repainting. With a little bit of imagination they could be a lot better.”
Ms Royce floated the idea of a voluntary work party being formed to undertake some improvements.
East Sutherland and Edderton ward councillor Deirdre Mackay responded that she felt more than a paint job might be required.
“One of our officers has some concerns,” she said. “It needs more than a cosmetic job. The toilets are old now and with that comes investment and cost. "I don’t know what would be achievable this year. Possibly the sensible thing to do would be to look at options.”
Cllr Mackay suggested ownership of the toilets could be transferred by the local authority to a community group such as Brora and District Action Group (BaDAG).
She also mentioned Highland Council's comfort scheme whereby owners of businesses or public premises are paid to make their facilities available to the public.
Cllr Mackay said she would look at the options for the toilets in the longer term and report back to the group. She would also find out if the council would allow volunteers to carry out some work.
Chairman Russell Rekhy said: “I spoke to the Justice Department and they would be willing to paint it but would want the community council to have ownership. Asset transfers are fine but what is your asset and what liabilities are you taking responsibility for?”
