TWEEDDALE councillors have been urged to vote against the sale of a West Linton public toilet.

A heated meeting of the village’s community council took place on Monday (October 9) evening.

It emerged last month that Scottish Borders Council (SBC) has received a substantial offer, believed to be in the 10s of thousands of pounds, for one of West Linton’s two public loos.

At Monday’s meeting, chairman Mark McDavid said: “As representatives of our village the three Tweeddale West councillors should vote against this sale and lobby their colleagues to do likewise.

“There is very strong opinion in the village that this should not be approved.”

West Linton Community Council (WLCC) member Doug Veitch said the councillors could lose votes at the next election if they failed to go against the sale.

Tweeddale West councillor Viv Thomson said: “I am not going to have pressure put on me by people who shout the loudest.

“There are people in the village who want the toilet closed.”

Fellow ward councillor Eric Small challenged Mr Veitch to stand at the next local council elections.

The meeting heard that Mr McDavid and WLCC planning member Tim Brian met SBC’s chief executive, David Robertson, and director of corporate governance.

Following that meeting SBC agreed to offer the toilet block on the open market with a deadline of October 6 and it is understood a formal offer in writing has been made.

The village also ran a survey about the sale, with 98 per cent of about 500 respondents urging it not to go ahead.

Ian Reid, speaking from the public seats, said: “The council could easily have said, ‘Ok, we will take it off the market and give the community a chance to buy the toilet’.

WLCC member Diane Beards said: “Money has talked, if the offer was half as much they might not have given it consideration.

“It feels underhanded, we need to be working together with the council.”

Mr Veitch added: “The whole problem is that SBC’s communication is appalling.”

WLCC member Anne Cumber said said it would not be possible to fit a disabled toilet in the block which is being retained.

It was revealed at the meeting that the cost of annually cleaning both West Linton toilets is £8,725.

An SBC spokesperson said: “We have received an offer for the sale of one of the two public toilet facilities in West Linton.

“If progressed, the sale would see the council receiving funds which are intended to be reinvested into the council’s public toilet estate, and to enhance the remaining facility in West Linton.

“We will now undertake some work to understand what that enhancement could be. As a council we need to strike the balance between being able to ensure the provision of public toilets is sustainable whilst also meeting the needs of local communities.

“This is not about removing or closing facilities but retaining and enhancing albeit with a smaller footprint.”