Aberdeenshire public toilets at tourism 'hidden gem' to reopen after seven years

Auchenblae’s public toilets will soon be reopening after seven years to prevent visitors to the village relying on residents to let them use their facilities.

Members of the Auchenblae Parks Committee will take ownership of the building from Aberdeenshire Council for just £1.

The MacKenzie Avenue facility was closed by the local authority in 2017 following a review of public toilets across the region.

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Officers decided to close the Auchenblae site for good, with low footfall to blame.

The site was due to be put on the market, but the community asset transfer request was received just in the nick of time.

Auchenblae Parks Committee run a number of sites in the village including The Den and are also responsible for the golf club toilets.

Council chiefs argued they knew what it takes to run facilities of this kind and suggested the transfer be approved.

Members of the Kincardine and Mearns area committee agreed and rubber stamped the transfer recently.

Now, the committee will split the building in two with toilets and baby changing facilities on one side and much needed storage in another.

David Sutherland of the Auchenblae Parks Committee explained the group looked at this opportunity as something that would bring benefit to visitors.

He told us Auchenblae is a “hidden gem for tourism” but is getting increasingly popular and said the village needed suitable public facilities.

And he revealed the change would prevent strangers from coming into his home and using his own toilet.

He said: “My house is right next to the building, and I’ve had several holidaymakers use my toilet.

“I was in my office working one day and my wife said there was someone in our downstairs toilet.

“I’ve seen first-hand a need for public toilets in the community.”

Group chairman Peter Clark added: “We get a lot of people coming through in the summer, the shop gets folk in asking for a toilet all the time.”

The duo admitted they saw the transfer as a chance to make the centre of Auchenblae look nicer as the toilets sit right in the heart of the village.

Peter remarked: “It’s a shame because we’ve got this beautiful village and then we have this 1980s monstrosity dilapidated building just sitting there.”

And why did they decide to alter the building to add storage?

“We’ve got a village hall that is bursting at the seams with toys and kits, the Scouts and pre-school groups are struggling for space,” Peter explained.

“We’ve got a massive football shed that is filled with community group stuff but it is right outside the village.

“At least if it’s here, it’s a lot more accessible.”

The building is in need of an upgrade as David noted: “It’s a bit of an eyesore at the moment”.

“We looked at changing the guttering, painting the roof eaves and doors, that’s something we can do quickly.

“Inside the building is in excellent condition, we could open them immediately.”

However, the floor needs refreshed and the partition wall needs to be built.

But the committee members are confident they can reopen the toilets within the next year.

While items will be stored in the other half of the building initially, Peter admits there is “all sorts of possibilities” for the site.

He admitted there is quite a bit of interest in the space and lots of ideas are swirling around.

“It would be nice to turn it into a hub or information area and there’s folk in the village that want to run one-off classes or a pop-up shop there.

“One guy wants to make it into a gym but I’m not sure there’s enough space,” he says with a chuckle.

“The priority is to secure the building, repair it and reopen the toilets.”