COUNCILLORS have been asked to support a resident’s complaint on public toilet payments in Argyll and Bute, which it is claimed are discriminatory.
The resident, who spoke during public question time at a council committee meeting, has raised a complaint on the issue, claiming it is indirectly in breach of legislation.
They were unable to access a public toilet due to the electronic entry system at the facility being out of order.
A councillor has now called for officers of the authority to put together a list of public conveniences so that they can be assessed.
The discussion took place at a meeting of the council’s Bute and Cowal area committee on Tuesday, December 3.
The resident, who is not being named in this story, said: “The public toilets have always been a free facility as long as I have lived here. The council has recently taken the approach to charge for them.
“I am not averse to that, as it is a great idea to keep them going for the future. However, there are protected characteristics under the act, such as age, gender and pregnancy. Some people need to use the toilets more often, and more urgently.”
The resident then described an incident at Tighnabruaich public toilets where they were unable to gain entry due to the electrical system being out of order.
They then said: “I then raised a complaint with the council, not with the principle of charging, but because some people need to use the toilets more urgently.
“I have written to say I am being put to an unfair disadvantage and that the charging system is discriminatory.
“My stage two complaint has now been closed, with Jim Smith (the council’s head of roads and amenity services) coming back to say that everybody is treated equally whether or not they have to pay.
“That is akin to saying that people in a wheelchair should use steps because everybody can.”
Mark Calder, the council’s project manager, responded: “I am really sorry the system did not work for you.
“We have had some problems with it since it has been installed and a couple of people have suffered because it has not taken payment. We are picking these issues up with our contractor.
“I am aware of your complaint. When you consider the provision of public conveniences, we provide 60 across the area, some of which are accessible.
“The recent introduction of payment facilities went through the budget process in previous years. The basis for introducing this is offsetting the cost and making them more sustainable than in previous years.”
Councillor Gordon Blair (SNP, Cowal), the committee’s chair, added: “Toilets and access to them is something we need to look at as an area committee.
“I would ask officers to provide us with a list of public conveniences so that we can assess them in Bute and Cowal.”
