Moray council leaders have moved to postpone plans to close public toilets until next year.
The local authority’s SNP administration group will argue that the move is necessary to support the area’s struggling visitor economy at a meeting next week.
It follows an outcry earlier this year when plans were formed to shut 14 loos by the end of September if they could not be offloaded into the hands of the community.
The toilets in the popular Cooper Park in Elgin, some near the beach at Findhorn, at Grant Park in Forres, in Regent Square in Keith and at the esplanade in Lossiemouth were among the more widely used facilities earmarked for closure.
Concerned opposition councillors described the announcement as a “typical slash and burn cut” and the move was ultimately delayed.
Now council leader, Graham Leadbitter, has outlined proposals to keep the toilets open under the council to support the recovery of Moray’s visitor economy following the pandemic.
His proposals will be put forward on Wednesday at a meeting of the council’s emergency cabinet.
Mr Leadbitter also wants to hold discussions with Moray Speyside Tourism and interested community groups about taking over the conveniences in the near future.
He said: “In the council’s budget debate I made clear that I wanted to see public toilet provision continue, and that we wished to maintain provision until we had a chance to explore alternative options with community groups and Moray Speyside Tourism.
“In normal circumstances we may have been able to make progress on that but no-one could have envisaged the situation we find ourselves in with the Covid-19 pandemic.
“While we still want to explore alternative models of delivering that service, such as through local community groups or other organisations, we fully recognise that the situation has changed beyond recognition in a matter of a few months.”