Public urination fines up 65 percent as toilets begin to reopen

Some public toilets in the city have been reopened.

Police Scotland has revealed officers handed out 33 fines for public urination in Edinburgh between March 23 and June 30 this year, a 65 percent increase on the same period in 2019.

Many people have taken to social media in recent weeks to complain about others urinating in streets and green spaces as public toilets have been closed during the lockdown period.

Council Leader Adam McVey said he was ‘extremely disappointed’ at reports in June of widespread littering and public urination during spells of warm weather.

Crowds flocked to The Meadows in June

The figures come from a Freedom Of Information request submitted by Edinburgh Live.

Ian Rankin, who lives beside the Meadows, described the scene from his window as ‘non-stop micturition’, while others added that Meadows Lane ‘smelled like a public toilet’ and that there was a ‘river of urine flowing down the lane’.

Mr Rankin later said people were treating the green space ‘like a club’, and called on the council to introduce portaloos and more bins to the area.

The author yesterday congratulated the Friends of the Meadows and Bruntsfield Links group for adding temporary yellow bins to the Meadows in a bid to reduce the local litter problem.

The group previously thanked Mr Rankin for drawing attention to the litter and urine problem on the Meadows, and added that they would ‘really welcome’ him as a member.

Seven public toilets were reopened across the city yesterday: Cramond, Hawes Pier, Bruntsfield Links, Saughton Park, Princes Street Gardens, the Meadows and Pipe Lane in Portobello.

However councillors rejected proposals to open more on the grounds that they are too expensive to run.

Officials said the cost of reopening the seven chosen will be £143,500 until the end of October, and £300,000 until the end of the year.

Facilities also began to open in East Lothian at the weekend, with disabled toilets the first to come back into use.

Some changes have been made to prevent the possible spread of the coronavirus, including a ‘one in, one out’ system in toilet blocks.

As the combination of warm weather, the reopening of toilets and the relaxation of the five mile travel limit drew people to the coast, more than 140 parking fines were issued in East Lothian over the weekend.

A council spokesperson said the ‘vast majority’ of people visiting the car parks were considerate and followed physical distancing rules, including queueing to use the toilet facilities.

But they added that the high volume of traffic had created parking issues, leading to some fines.

The spokesperson said: “We do not have a figure for beach car parks alone but can confirm a total of 140 parking charge notices were issued across the whole of East Lothian from Friday, July 10, to Sunday, July 12.

“As lockdown restrictions continue to ease, more of our public toilets across East Lothian will be opened to the public and we would ask residents and visitors to continue to be considerate to others in ensuring they are observing physical distancing, are legally parked and follow any instructions given when visiting local shops, visitor attractions, and our hospitality industry.”