Businesses in Kilcreggan have pleaded for the village’s public toilets to be kept open.
The Waverley will call at the village pier today on her first voyage in two years following the £2.3m installation of new boilers.
And there are fears that the village will not be able to accommodate passengers and other people who want to see the historic paddle steamer, which can no longer call at Helensburgh since the town’s pier was closed.
Argyll and Bute Council – which is responsible for the pier in Helensburgh – closed dozens of public toilets including Kilcreggan’s at the start of lockdown in March.
The nine councillors on the business continuity committee – none of whom represent the Rosneath Peninsula area – voted last week not to reopen any toilets, following a report by officials which wrongly stated that the Kilcreggan ferry was operating with reduced sailings.
Karen Clayton, who runs Kilcreggan Post Office with her husband Stephen, said there had been no consultation with the local community about the issue.
“We are struggling as it is to have a profitable business – closing the toilets in the village is just one more blow to the village as a whole,” she said.
“We need people to visit to keep the village open and vibrant. We need the Waverley to visit giving a much-needed boost to local businesses while people wait for the boat.
“These toilets are a vital part of that, we have seen without them already human waste on both the beach and on the grass in the car park, and the smell of human pee can already be smelt wafting across the village on busy weekends.
“This is simply not acceptable and a gross failure on the council’s part to support local economies.
“Where will the council’s income come from when a dying village has no businesses and lower council tax income from the falling property values?”
Arusha ‘Roo’ Irvine, who is currently extending her antiques shop in the village, said: “As a business struggling to get back on its feet after lockdown, we need to have every possible amenity open to help encourage and retain visitors to our community and businesses.”
And Derek ‘Titch’ Fowlis of the Creggans Inn said that parking problems were already severe in the village and the Waverley’s visits would make this even worse.
“I don’t have an issue with customers of the Waverley using the pub toilets as long as they adhere to social distancing and possibly buy a drink,” he said.
“I agree that tomorrow the village could be an absolute bomb site, in particular with base traffic leaving in the morning and Waverley traffic arriving before they finish at lunchtime – a recipe for disaster.”
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