The toilets in the leys Road car park have suffered a slow decline over the years. A sad uncomfortable history and decline. In 2016, when the toilets were operated as a partnership between Moray Council and volunteers, a woman suffered a stroke and was locked inside the toilets for nearly 21 hours. The toilets were closed in 2018 due to Moray Council budget cuts and left boarded up; they are not a good advertisement for the town. Eventually Moray Council put the toilet block up for sale; would it become another takeaway shop or could something better be found for the future of this forlorn building?

Prompted by concerns over the lack of accessible public toilets in Forres; Ray’s Opportunities purchased the Leys Road public toilets in March. The long boarded-up building is hopefully set for a dramatic turnaround. The charity wants to turn the outdated and primitive toilet block into a properly equipped, comfortable and well looked after facility. Forres can and must have better. Access to decent toilet facilities must be a basic human right.

The intention is that people with a disability, young families, the elderly, visitors to the town, everyone in fact, should have access to a public restroom which is properly equipped, comfortable and well looked after. Such a project will take time, capital investment, and the provision of ongoing care, but the end result will be to the public good. Accessible facilities in the Falconer Museum have been out of commission since council cuts closed the museum in 2019, leaving the Forres House Community Centre (which is closed on Sundays) provide the only accessible public toilets in the town centre. Wheelchair users increasingly have to rely on the good will of a tiny number of commercial premises – or they simply decide that using a toilet whilst out of the home is not an option. Imagine how restrictive this is in terms of any kind of independent living. People with a more serious disability simply have nowhere to go.

Tim Eagle, whose Highlands and Islands constituency includes Moray, submitted a motion highlighting the initiative in the Scottish Parliament following the charity’s purchase –

This is a very public-spirited venture and I know it will be widely welcomed in Forres. The existing public conveniences are located at the other end of Grant Park, and are just too distant for many people wishing to visit the High Street. It has been widely remarked how Forres High Street is really coming back to life with new businesses opening and existing ones expanding. This is further good news. With the prospect of the Falconer Museum also reopening in the future, things are really looking positive for the town. My congratulations to Ray McDonald and his supporters for all their work and their ambition for their local community.

We sincerely hope to bring the toilet block up to Changing Places standard, which would make it accessible to people with complex disabilities. The nearest to Forres are at Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin or at Inverness Airport.

The Inverness firm LDN Architects have been commissioned by the charity to carry out a feasibility study which as a result hopes to submit an application for planning permission at some point during 2025.

Links to Gazette Articles

Forres public toilets could see major redevelopment and reopening

Forres public toilet scheme praised at Holyrood