Public Toilets

In 1998 the Poolewe and Aultbea public toilet facilities were threatened with closure over the winter months due to Highland Council budget constraints. The toilet facilities are used largely by local people in the winter and are a valued public facility, particularly at a time of year when many other local facilities are closed.  

 

In order to retain the year round availability of the toilets GALE agreed to manage them in partnership with Highland Council. Each year GALE is paid a management fee by the Highland Council to keep the toilet facilities open for 6 months of the year. This fee becomes smaller with each  renewal of the contract, at a time where we are seeing a huge increase in tourism and extended tourist seasons.  

 

Unfortunately, toilet provision is not a statutory service of government and as a result it is not well funded and communities are left to pick up the tab – both financing the buildings and cleaning materials and volunteering time to keep them clean! 

 

During lockdown 2020 we closed the facilities in both villages to protect our cleaner’s health and in line with government and Highland Council guidance.  Across Highland and the Western Isles, many council run toilet facilities remain closed due to Covid with visitors being advised of this and encouraged to plan journeys and stops with this in mind. The result, as many of us have seen, is a disgusting mess left across our area by those who have been caught short.  

 

GALE terminated its SLA with Highland Council for Poolewe toilets in November 2024.

 

If you value the loos in Aultbea village and would like to support them financially then please consider making a donation online or via text: