Published: Wednesday, 1st July, 2009 11:43am
'Old, smelly' toilets won't reopen, Bain
by Peter Swindon
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Cllr Bain
Cowdenbeath"s public toilets are 'gone forever', according to the town"s SNP councillor.
Alistair Bain said the Nationalist administration will make better use of the cash saved by closing what he describes as the 'smelly, old Pit Road toilets'.
The SNP-led administration"s balance sheet is boosted by £57,000 a year following the closure. Businesses could now pull in a £2000 annual payout from the public purse if they allow people to use their conveniences under a new 'Comfort Break" scheme.
Cllr Bain spoke to the Times after Cowdenbeath Area Committee passed a resolution which criticised the council"s failure to introduce the scheme in the year since the facility was shut.
The motion, tabled by Labour"s Alex Rowley and Mark Hood, also slammed the lack of signs indicating the current alternative - Cowdenbeath Leisure Centre.
Cllr Bain described the move as 'mischief making'.
'I am confident that when it"s fully operational Cowdenbeath folk and visitors will have many more choices of clean, well-run toilets,' he said. 'The previous smelly, old Pit Road toilets which were barely used by anyone, except in dire emergency, are gone forever and we can use the money saved to develop new options.'
Cllr Bain was backed by SNP colleague, Ian Chisholm, who has described the town"s toilets as a 'dingy dungeon'.
The Lochgelly and Cardenden councillor, a member of the council committee which rubber stamped plans for a 'comfort break" scheme, said, 'We felt the motion was unfair to council officers who had only been given the go ahead to initiate the comfort break scheme on the 16th April and Cowdenbeath citizens have had the use of the leisure centre toilets post the Pit Road closure.
'I now have an assurance from Fraser Thomson, head of Environmental Services, that the new refurbishment of the town hall will incorporate public toilets as per the SNP-led administration"s policy of utilising Fife Council property, where suitable, for public toilets. He has advised me that signage will be going ahead as soon as possible but as the schemes are Fife-wide, new signage has to be designed and, where required, a license from Roads (department) to install same. Fraser is dealing with Fife Council legal to draw up contracts suitable for agreement with private businesses to enable the public to use their services.'
He added, 'I know we will be looking at similar solutions for Cardenden and also Lochgelly where the car park toilet was closed by the previous Labour administration. We will need alternatives when the Lochgelly Centre closes for major upgrading.'
Councillor Alex Rowley said 'rude and arrogant' SNP councillors are riding roughshod over the will of the people.
'They have completely ignored the views of the community council, of local businesses and the petition signed by local people. The public toilets in Cowdenbeath were staffed and kept clean and I would suggest that there are no signs in the town or at the leisure centre because they really don"t want a steady flow of people trooping past the children"s swimming area to use the toilets all day long. Indeed, I have always been of the view that the toilets in the leisure centre are not suitable for general use given their proximity to the swimming pools.
'We will be expecting answers at our next committee as to why there has been no signage and indeed why they shut the toilet a year before they put their new scheme to committee, never mind implemented it.
'Why was Cowdenbeath singled out, that is what people want to know? Study after study has shown the link between public toilet provision and vibrant town centres. Help The Aged has talked about the isolation of older people who won"t visit places where there is not toilet provision and there have been parliamentary enquiries which have concluded that public toilets matter for town centres.'
He added, 'Clearly, Cowdenbeath does not matter to Cllr Bain and his sidekick from Kirkcaldy.'
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George Dunn
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Jul 1 09 13:59
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It's official! Counciilors Bain has lost it. How dare he! He must think that we are all idiots, the decision to close the toilets was not made for teh good of the people in Cowdenbeath but to allow cllr Bain's party balanace the books at Fife house. Bring on the next election he needs to go.
Paul Craig
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Jul 1 09 14:05
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Who is he representing the people of Cowdenbeath or the SNP. Clearly Bain, thinks his party is more important than the people he represents. If he's confident he should stand down and test public opinion in a byelection.
I guess he can't take the risk of lossing his expenses?
John Campbell
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Jul 2 09 17:12
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Sorry folks, but this story is a load of p*sh.
Guest
Jul 6 09 02:01
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ironic .. !.. minus a lack of bins in the public parks in cowdenbeath .. now a lack of public toilets !
Glue
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Jul 10 09 13:56
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Smelly? Old? How very dare he? You could have near as well eaten your dinner off those toilets they were so well-maintained. It just goes to show Cllr Bain had never set foot inside the facilities. Why else would the people of Cowden get so passionate about trying to keep them open, raising petitions, writing poems into this very newspaper. His comments are a disgrace.
Boris
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Jul 10 09 14:09
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Ah ha ha ha!!Im glad theve closed as there was always a terrible smell when u walked past and to Glue - why would the counciller use the toilets, hes been trained properly and gone b4 he left the house!
Glue
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Jul 13 09 09:50
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@ Boris. Not everyone who uses Cowdenbeath High Street has the strong bladder of an SNP councillor - many Cowdenbeath residents are elderly, or young children being taken round the shops with their mothers. His comments are also a slap in the face to the woman who cleaned the toilets, who took her work very seriously. His comments are poorly researched, and not based in the real world - a bit like the SNP´s costings for an independent Scotland!
billy bathgate
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Jul 13 09 11:12
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hmm...how far away is the PUBLIC leisure centre??? fitted out with lovely and constantly cleaned toilets, which are paid for anyway under the running costs of the centre....about 20 yards i think....
Only reason public toilets, like these blocks, need to be open is for undisirables and perverts to frequent them to get their fixes.
COME ON THE SNP!!!
concerned
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Jul 13 09 19:13
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Councillors Bain and Chisolm, should be ashamed at the disgraceful way they are totally ignoring the wishes of the local community in Cowdenbeath regarding the Public Toilets availabilty.In six months or more I suspect they will come back and say we told you so, because if the building is left without proper maintenance it will go into a state of disrepair.
l duncan
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Jul 15 09 18:49
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Billy. Did you go to school - there are 3ft in a yeard and it must be at least 100 yards from the toilets to the toilets in the Centre - quite a distance if you are caught short - of course you could always just go behind a treebeing a man. Unfortunately ladies cant and if you are of the older or younger generation 100 yards is quite a distance to '' hold it in ''
Bill Bathgate
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Jul 24 09 14:04
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Bill Bathgate
Hi I am Bill Bathgate the person who wrote the article about Helen Eadies comments regarding the renaming of the Dunfermline East constituency COWDENBEATH.
I am not the Billy Bathgate who wrote the articles on the Cowdenbeath Publis Toilets. I would suggest to Billy that before you destroy anything, make sure that you have an adequate replacement ready. Do not be so inflexible in your opinions that you cut off your nose to spite your face. Do one of two things]; Make sure that the existing toilets are replaced before closing them or pay them a visit to inspect the state of cleanliness. Utilizing the toilets of the local businesses is not the answer and the person who suggested this is obviously an idiot.Do not believe or confide in everything that your local councillers or politicians tell you, they are great at misrepresenting or disguising the actual facts. This applies all over the world.
Billy and I are probably related and I would like to get in touch with him. My Email address is]; bathgatebill@hotmail.com
I just want make one more comment regarding the comments made by Billy Bathgate. He made mention of the old mining community in a disparaging way which suggests that he does not know the real history of Cowdenbeath and the mining community. Send me your Email address and I will send you an article that I wrote on Cowdenbeath, Beath High School and the mining community. Learn about Cowdenbeath and the Mining community and BE PROUD that you live in a place that has given so much to the country and the world.
Albert Park.
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Dec 22 09 19:46
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This Nationalist Councillor, Ally Bain, has shown just how much he is out of touch with the people of Cowdenbeath. These toilets are ideally situated for the general public and were never at any time smelly. His audacity and arrogance is just like the leader of his party at Holyrood, Alec Salmond. He wont listen to the people either.
I say Shame on them!
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