Councillors and history bosses are locked in a row over paying for loos at Orkney’s famous Ring of Brodgar.
This week, the councillors turned down a proposal to pay £95,000 to build temporary toilets at the West Mainland site.
The lack of toilets at the UNESCO World Heritage Site has been causing problems.
There are reports of visitors using the loch-side or road verge due to the lack of facilities in the area.
Everyone seems to agree something needs to be done.
But this is the second time councillors have refused to spend the cash in the hopes of getting temporary toilets ready for next year’s tourist season.
Instead, they say Historic Environment Scotland needs to step up and contribute more than a “shameful” initial offer of £4,000.
The proposal was first talked about by a smaller council committee last month.
At that meeting, one official said they would all be aware of “undesirable toileting behaviour” at the site.
A decision is needed for 2024
Councillor James Moar said the council needed to “stop talking and get something done”.
With Orkney featuring on recent television programmes, he said this issue was “putting the county in a pretty bad light”.
Councillor Stephen Clack said: “While we hold conversations, the poo is piling up and our reputation as a tourist destination is going down.”
The council as a whole was not in favour of changing their minds on the temporary toilet proposals, however.
In a vote, the majority said the toilet proposals should go back to the smaller committee.
The main problem was who should pay for the loos.
The responsibility for the site is held by Historic Environment Scotland (HES).
Council leader James Stockan said HES provides toilets “in every other place they take people” – including at Orkney’s Skara Brae and Maeshowe.
Who should spend a penny?
HES had offered to contribute £4,000 over three years – but councillor Leslie Manson said this was “shameful” and “a joke”.
Councillor Duncan Tullock said: “HES attract 150,000 people to the Ring of Brodgar every year. They don’t provide toilets.
“To get an offer of £4,000 in a £100,000 project is absolutely disgusting.
“I want to see pressure put on HES to stand up and be counted and not depend on everybody else to do their job for them.”
A spokesperson for HES said the £4,000 was its “initial” offer.
They said: “We provided feedback on the council’s proposals.
“Given that if this plan was to go ahead, it would have taken place over the next three years.
“We indicated that we would be happy to provide an initial £4,000, as our budgets run financial year to financial year.
“We also said that we would be happy to look at scope to increase support for future years if the project was to go ahead.”
Conversation