Visitors and locals out to spend a pound or two in Turriff town centre can soon do so without worrying about where they’ll spend a penny.
The town’s public toilets on High Street, threatened with closure since 2016, have been handed over to Turriff Business Association to become a volunteer-run asset for the town.
They will open to visitors on Monday, now that the final piece of the funding puzzle to maintain them was gifted by Aberdeenshire Council.
Known locally as the Turra Loos, the town centre facilities were saved from closure four years ago following outcry from local businesses and residents, and intervention by the Turriff and District Heritage Society.
The process for the toilet block to be transferred into the heritage association’s control proved fruitful eventually, and now the Turriff Business Association has secured a licence agreement with the local authority to take over the day-to-day running of them.
Business association chairwoman Marj Chalmers said: “We were awarded a grant under the Formartine Area Committee budget town regeneration scheme of £6,000 towards the upgrade of hand driers, personal protective equipment, and a marketing strategy to regenerate to town centre and hopefully increase footfall.
“We plan to reopen the High Street toilets on Monday and intend informing bus operators that the facility will be open for their use.”
The loos have been deep cleaned and new hand driers are being fitted ahead of their unveiling.
Staff from the nearby Tesco store will open the facilities at 7.30am and they’ll be cleaned and closed by volunteers around 6pm.
Town councillor Alistair Forsyth previously lobbied to save the toilets from closure, deeming deeming them a “necessity not a luxury”.
He welcomed the show of “community spirit” which means Turriff now has two sets of conveniences, the other remaining under council ownership at the Den.
He added: “The town centre toilets facility is a good asset for the town and I am sure it will help as a benefit to visitors and townspeople likewise.
“I look forward to visiting them.”
The £6,000 grant is part of a wider funding campaign launched by the business association to put in place a £26,000 Covid-19 recovery plan for the town.
Aided by funding from the Phoenix Fund and the Scottish Town Partnership Bid’s towns and resilience fund, it hopes to put in place a plethora or projects and a marketing strategy aimed at boosting spending and footfall within the town centre.
More helpers are required to lock up and clean the Turra Loos on a rota basis, though, and volunteers should contact the business association.
