Edinburgh toilets: Council announces temporary loos for summer at Meadows, Leith Links and Inverleith Park
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Temporary toilets will be installed this week in three Edinburgh parks as council chiefs gear up for a busy summer in the city – and they said they were looking at putting a temporary toilet in Portobello as well.
Recent sunny weather has already seen more people flocking to the Capital’s parks and seaside and numbers are expected to increase once the school holidays start and Festival season draws nearer. The temporary loos will be installed in Inverleith Park, the Meadows and Leith Links in a bid to cater for people making the most of the sunshine. The toilets will be open from 10am until 8pm daily and will be regularly checked and maintained by the council’s public conveniences team. And they will remain in place until October 27. Council bosses are also promising to step up litter bin collections in hotspot areas over the summer.
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Hide AdThe £67,000 contract to supply and install the temporary loos was won by Portakabin, though there will be some extra costs on top of that for the council to cover servicing the units over the summer, including cleaning and providing toilet rolls and soap. The council has the option to extend the contract for up to two years. But it also says it is working on finding permanent solutions for each of the three sites to reduce its reliance on temporary provision in the future.
Edinburgh East SNP MP Tommy Sheppard called earlier this month for portable loos in Portobello after locals reported people relieving themselves in alleyways and gardens in the area. There are already two permanent public toilets in Portobello – at Pipe Lane and Bath Street – but Mr Sheppard said that had not prevented “awful scenes” witnessed by local residents and seafront businesses. Now the council has confirmed it is looking at additional temporary loos for Portobello.
Val Walker, the council’s culture and communities convener, said: “How fantastic is it that we’re experiencing such great weather? Particularly as we head into the school holidays, there is no question more people will be keen to spend time outdoors, enjoying the sun in our award-winning parks. Hopefully, everyone will do their bit to keep them beautiful, too –disposing of barbecues responsibly and avoiding littering.
“We’ll soon have temporary public toilets in place in the Meadows, Leith Links and Inverleith, like we provided last summer, and we’ll be carrying out more bin collections in these hotspot areas on busy days. We know that Portobello is going to be a particularly popular area so we’re looking into the option of extra facilities at the Promenade, alongside costing up other, more permanent public toilet options for future years.”