Blackness residents' final plea to save the village's public toilets

The village, which is home to the historic Blackness Castle – a key location in the television series ‘Outlander’ – is also on the route of the John Muir Way, a long-distance walk and cycle route from Dunbar to Helensburgh.

But the village and its beach are also very popular with local people enjoying walks, cycles or runs along the shoreline that links Bo’ness to the west and South Queensferry to the east.

And they say that Falkirk Council’s plans to close the conveniences in the tiny village square will have a huge impact as they are the only public toilets for miles.

“The toilets are really busy every day – not just at weekends,” said Jann Fairley, chair of Blackness Community Council.

Residents say that there have already been instances of visitors who camp overnight on the beach urinating in public – and they fear that could become much more common if the closure goes ahead.

They also worry that some visitors, such as those with children, pensioners and disabled people, will no longer be able to enjoy the area if there is no public toilet.

One young mum said: “In the summer, I’ll come here with the kids and we’ll spend all day at the beach – we couldn’t do that without a public toilet.”

Colm O’Rourke, owner of the nearby Lobster Pot, says that his pub and restaurant simply could not cope with the numbers that would use his toilets if no others were available.

Mr O’Rourke said: “Our difficulty is that our toilets are situated in the middle of the pub and it means people coming in and walking past people eating.

“We’ve got a lot of people using them as it is and we just couldn’t cope with the amount we would get in – it would be too much.”

Another problem is that the Lobster Pot doesn’t open until noon, unlike the public toilets which open by 9am at the latest, seven days a week.

Falkirk Council will discuss the closure on Wednesday as part of its Strategic Property Review, which will see 133 properties close or transfer out of council ownership.

The council says it owns far too many properties in a poor state of repair and, with a £64 million budget gap, it simply can’t afford £35,000 a year to keep the toilets open.

But the council’s own Equality and Poverty Impact Assessment (EPIA) acknowledges that “closing this facility without any mitigation means that women, younger and older people and people with a disability are less likely to visit this area and to participate in outdoor activities or tourism”.

It also admits there is no data to say how busy the toilets are.

The police’s contribution to the EPIA is that “the proposed closure will reduce vandalism of the premises but may increase public urination nuisance in the area”.

Previously, the Conservatives have suggested that community asset transfer would be a good way to keep public toilets open.

But residents say that with no income for the public toilets the cost of keeping them open means this is not an option for a community group.

Bo’ness and Blackness councillor Ann Ritchie will present a petition, which has gathered 2000 signatures, to Falkirk Council tomorrow (Tuesday), calling on members to think again when they meet on Wednesday.