SCOTTISH Borders Council is to introduce a 30p entry charge at four public conveniences in Peeblesshire.

The facilities at School Brae, Eastgate car park and Kingsmeadows in Peebles and at Hall Street in Innerleithen are among 27 across the region which will fitted with automated machines, affording paying customers access via a paddle gate entry system.

The council will borrow £200,000 to effect the changes which will be phased in over the next financial year.

SBC’s executive heard on Tuesday that the regime was expected to achieve revenue savings of £211,000 by defraying the current £323,000 annual cost of maintaining council provision.

The toilets in West Linton and Broughton, where charging is not deemed viable because of low usage, will continue to be maintained by the council.

The executive voted to introduce the charges, despite a call from Councillor Catriona Bhatia (Tweeddale East) for a decision to be deferred because the list of the 27 affected facilities had not been provided in advance of the meeting.

“We are being asked to approve charges for facilities which in Peebles are quite close to each other,” said Mrs Bhatia.

“I think councillors should be given time to consider the wisdom of this course of action in their wards.

“From a personal point of view, I would much rather take a trip to Biggar where the facility run by South Lanarkshire Council is excellent, than visit any of the Peebles toilets which are really rather unsatisfactory, regardless of whether or not we charge people for the privilege of using them.”

But her amendment calling for a decision to be delayed until next Thursday’s full council meeting was defeated by seven votes to five.

Instead, the executive instead endorsed recommendations in a report from Jason Hedley, area manager neighbourhood services.

He stressed that the council had no statutory responsibility to provide public conveniences and acknowledged that the possibility of the council closing down its entire network of 40 facilities had been considered during a recent review of provision.

However, Mr Hedley claimed this would be potentially negative for the economic performance of the Borders and discriminatory against certain groups and those areas where no alternative local provision [in public buildings, pubs, restaurants etc] could be identified.

“Provision of public conveniences must change in order to ensure a financial and environmentally efficient service can be maintained,” he stated. “Given the financial context, doing nothing is not an option.”

It is not the first time the council has charged the public to use its toilets. Up until 2008, a 25p charge was levied at eight staffed locations – including at the Eastgate car park in Peebles. The scheme was abandoned with annual staffing costs of £177,000 outstripping income of just £65,000.

After this week’s meeting, Tory opposition councillor Gavin Logan (Tweeddale East) described the decision as “discriminatory, unfair and plainly wrong”.

He told the Peeblesshire News: “Why should there be a charge in some parts of the Borders and not in others? There will be a substantial cost in adapting those toilets which have been earmarked in this arbitrary fashion.

”We must not forget that not everybody will have the required change regardless of the urgency of their need.

“It is important that we make the Borders as tourist friendly as possible. Charging for these facilities will have the opposite effect.”