Latest news with #JoannaMowat
Scotsman
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
Ignoring residents' concerns boosts suppot for Reform
Last week I recei-ved a letter from a constituent, ticked off because the road outside their flat had been closed to traffic for most of the day. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... They have objected to these changes. I have supported them in these objections but time and again the majority of councillors have voted for the changes and no one has paid any heed to the residents' concerns. Joanna Mowat is Conservative councillor for City Centre Ward They have put the ideological policy they approved ahead of the very real concerns of residents living in the Old Town. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The resident ended their letter by saying that they were minded to vote for Reform because no one was listening. Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage on the campaign trail The Diffley Partnership has carried out polling into Scottish attitudes. The findings are stark – those who are considering voting Reform report high levels of disengagement, fear and lack of enthusiasm about the future. The First Minister has held a meeting billed as how to vanquish the threat of Reform. This is an appalling way to treat people who report they are scared, disengaged and unenthusiastic. Branding them as the problem and further ostracising them. In any other walk of life – we would try to understand why this group felt like this and engage with them. Instead in Scotland today we cast them out, which will only confirm their fears and disengagement. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad I have rarely seen such a wrong-headed way to treat people that is actively cruel to people who seem utterly scunnered by modern Scotland. My colleagues in the Conservative group have written about the importance of delivering for the public and listening to them and how the council fails to do so. The powers that be at the council didn't ask whether there was another way to achieve the outcomes the changes purport to deliver. Residents' concerns were dismissed and the irony is – the Conservation Area Statement for the Old Town states that maintaining a residential population in the area is important. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad I know that some people have already left because of these changes and I fear more will. If we carry on ignoring people not only will Reform be ushered in by her helpful handmaidens the 'progressives' on the council but we'll lose more residents in the city centre. Conservative councillor for City Centre Ward
Scotsman
04-05-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Edinburgh public toilets: Cafe owner welcomes call for new loos to be built at Haymarket
Watch more of our videos on and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565 Visit Shots! now An Edinburgh shop owner says new public toilets proposed by a councillor could help reduce abuse and expense at his business. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A lack of public toilets around Edinburgh's Haymarket station has led to 'significant levels of public urination' and the abuse of local staff, it has been claimed. New public toilets in Haymarket are being proposed to tackle a shortage in the city's West End. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad And a local café owner has welcomed the move, saying he has faced huge costs and the abuse of his staff by people looking to use his facilities. Joanna Mowat, a Conservative councillor for the City Centre ward, is proposing that public toilets that were meant to be constructed years ago finally get built. The old public toilets off Morrison Street were knocked down when a large new development opposite Haymarket Station got underway. The council included a requirement that public toilets be built on the site when it sold the land to the developer, but this has not been done so far. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Murat Oztas, owner of the Troy café on Dalry Road, says he and his staff face regular harassment from locals trying to find a restroom. And, it costs him money – he says abuse of the restroom led to him having to spend over £5,000 in refurbishments last year. Oztas told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: 'We have too many people taking advantage of the toilet. Some people get aggressive. It costs a couple grand to maintain this. I'm a local small business. 'A couple months ago, I didn't let someone in [to use the restroom], and he just started running in. He threw something out [in the toilet], they blocked it. Nobody cares.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He said he had previously been part of a council scheme which saw the city give business owners £500 in order to make their toilets publicly available. But Oztas found offering the toilets to the public to be much more costly than that due to the expense in providing loo roll and provisioning cleaning supplies, as well as the extra time pressure managing locals wanting to use the toilet added for staff. He says he is happy to help if somebody with a medical condition needs his restroom, but that he is exasperated with the wider public trying to use it for free. Cllr Mowat has put forward a motion to the next full council meeting calling for new toilets to be built – and asking why it has taken so long. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It reads: 'No public toilets are present in the current scheme being developed despite the burden still existing on the site. 'The nearest public toilets are at the West End of Princes Street Gardens – a considerable distance away from a busy station and tram stop used by people making their way back from events with large crowds at Tynecastle and Murrayfield. 'Unfortunately, this leads to significant levels of public urination which is unpleasant and unhygienic.' She points to new build public toilets being introduced in the Meadows and Inverleith, and says all possible steps should be taken to introduce something similar in Haymarket. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad And she asks for the next meeting of the Culture and Communities Committee to include a report to explore building new toilets, including a consideration of a pay-to-use model, and for more information on why toilets have not yet been built. Oztas says that new public toilets would be helpful – but he would want them to be hygienic, as he worries unpleasant smells could drive customers away from the area.
STV News
03-05-2025
- Business
- STV News
Businesses facing 'huge costs and abuse' due to lack of public toilets near station
A lack of public toilets around Edinburgh's Haymarket station has led to 'significant levels of public urination' and the abuse of local staff, it has been claimed. New public toilets in Haymarket are being proposed to tackle a shortage in the city's West End. And a local café owner has welcomed the move, saying he has faced huge costs and the abuse of his staff by people looking to use his facilities. Joanna Mowat, a Conservative councillor for the City Centre ward, is proposing that public toilets that were meant to be constructed years ago finally get built. The old public toilets off Morrison Street were knocked down when a large new development opposite Haymarket Station got underway. The council included a requirement that public toilets be built on the site when it sold the land to the developer, but this has not been done so far. Murat Oztas, owner of the Troy café on Dalry Road, says he and his staff face regular harassment from locals trying to find a restroom. And, it costs him money – he says abuse of the restroom led to him having to spend over £5,000 in refurbishments last year. LDRS A view down Dalry Road towards the junction with West Maitland Street Oztas told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: 'We have too many people taking advantage of the toilet. Some people get aggressive. 'It costs a couple grand to maintain this. I'm a local small business. 'A couple months ago, I didn't let someone in [to use the restroom], and he just started running in. 'He threw something out [in the toilet], they blocked it. Nobody cares.' He said he had previously been part of a council scheme which saw the city give business owners £500 in order to make their toilets publicly available. But Oztas found offering the toilets to the public to be much more costly than that due to the expense in providing loo roll and provisioning cleaning supplies, as well as the extra time pressure managing locals wanting to use the toilet added for staff. He says he is happy to help if somebody with a medical condition needs his restroom, but that he is exasperated with the wider public trying to use it for free. Cllr Mowat has put forward a motion to the next full Edinburgh Council meeting asking new toilets to be built – and asking why it has taken so long. It reads: 'No public toilets are present in the current scheme being developed despite the burden still existing on the site. 'The nearest public toilets are at the West End of Princes Street Gardens – a considerable distance away from a busy station and tram stop used by people making their way back from events with large crowds at Tynecastle and Murrayfield. 'Unfortunately, this leads to significant levels of public urination which is unpleasant and unhygienic.' She points to new build public toilets being introduced in the Meadows and Inverleith, and says all possible steps should be taken to introduce something similar in Haymarket. And she asks for the next meeting of the Culture and Communities Committee to include a report to explore building new toilets, including a consideration of a pay-to-use model, and for more information on why toilets have not yet been built. Oztas says that new public toilets would be helpful – but he would want them to be hygienic, as he worries unpleasant smells could drive customers away from the area. Cllr Mowat's motion will be heard at the next full meeting of Edinburgh Council on Thursday, 8 May, which can be viewed here ( Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lack of public toilets around Haymarket blamed for staff abuse and public urination
A lack of public toilets around Edinburgh's Haymarket station has led to "significant levels of public urination" and the abuse of local staff, it has been claimed. New public toilets in Haymarket are being proposed to tackle a shortage in the city's West End. And a local café owner has welcomed the move, saying he has faced huge costs and the abuse of his staff by people looking to use his facilities. READ MORE: East Lothian venue to host Medieval event with live jousting READ MORE: Impact of trans ruling on Edinburgh city services 'must be clarified' Joanna Mowat, a Conservative councillor for the City Centre ward, is proposing that public toilets that were meant to be constructed years ago finally get built. The old public toilets off Morrison Street were knocked down when a large new development opposite Haymarket Station got underway. The council included a requirement that public toilets be built on the site when it sold the land to the developer, but this has not been done so far. Murat Oztas, owner of the Troy café on Dalry Road, says he and his staff face regular harassment from locals trying to find a restroom. And, it costs him money – he says abuse of the restroom led to him having to spend over £5,000 in refurbishments last year. Oztas told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: 'We have too many people taking advantage of the toilet. Some people get aggressive. 'It costs a couple grand to maintain this. I'm a local small business. 'A couple months ago, I didn't let someone in [to use the restroom], and he just started running in. 'He threw something out [in the toilet], they blocked it. Nobody cares.' He said he had previously been part of a council scheme which saw the city give business owners £500 in order to make their toilets publicly available. But Oztas found offering the toilets to the public to be much more costly than that due to the expense in providing loo roll and provisioning cleaning supplies, as well as the extra time pressure managing locals wanting to use the toilet added for staff. He says he is happy to help if somebody with a medical condition needs his restroom, but that he is exasperated with the wider public trying to use it for free. Cllr Mowat has put forward a motion to the next full Edinburgh Council meeting asking new toilets to be built – and asking why it has taken so long. It reads: 'No public toilets are present in the current scheme being developed despite the burden still existing on the site. 'The nearest public toilets are at the West End of Princes Street Gardens – a considerable distance away from a busy station and tram stop used by people making their way back from events with large crowds at Tynecastle and Murrayfield. 'Unfortunately, this leads to significant levels of public urination which is unpleasant and unhygienic.' She points to new build public toilets being introduced in the Meadows and Inverleith, and says all possible steps should be taken to introduce something similar in Haymarket. And she asks for the next meeting of the Culture and Communities Committee to include a report to explore building new toilets, including a consideration of a pay-to-use model, and for more information on why toilets have not yet been built. Oztas says that new public toilets would be helpful – but he would want them to be hygienic, as he worries unpleasant smells could drive customers away from the area. Cllr Mowat's motion will be heard at the next full meeting of Edinburgh Council on Thursday, 8 May, which can be viewed here. Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.
Edinburgh Reporter
02-05-2025
- Business
- Edinburgh Reporter
Lack of public toilets near Haymarket station has led to 'significant levels of public urination'
A lack of public toilets around Edinburgh's Haymarket station has led to 'significant levels of public urination' and the abuse of local staff, it has been claimed. New public toilets in Haymarket are being proposed to tackle a shortage in the city's West End. And a local café owner has welcomed the move, saying he has faced huge costs and the abuse of his staff by people looking to use his facilities. Joanna Mowat, a Conservative councillor for the City Centre ward, is proposing that public toilets that were meant to be constructed years ago finally get built. The old public toilets off Morrison Street were knocked down when a large new development opposite Haymarket Station got underway. The council included a requirement that public toilets be built on the site when it sold the land to the developer, but this has not been done so far. Murat Oztas, owner of the Troy café on Dalry Road, says he and his staff face regular harassment from locals trying to find a restroom. And, it costs him money – he says abuse of the restroom led to him having to spend over £5,000 in refurbishments last year. Oztas told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: 'We have too many people taking advantage of the toilet. Some people get aggressive. 'It costs a couple grand to maintain this. I'm a local small business. 'A couple months ago, I didn't let someone in [to use the restroom], and he just started running in. 'He threw something out [in the toilet], they blocked it. Nobody cares.' He said he had previously been part of a council scheme which saw the city give business owners £500 in order to make their toilets publicly available. But Oztas found offering the toilets to the public to be much more costly than that due to the expense in providing loo roll and provisioning cleaning supplies, as well as the extra time pressure managing locals wanting to use the toilet added for staff. He says he is happy to help if somebody with a medical condition needs his restroom, but that he is exasperated with the wider public trying to use it for free. Cllr Mowat has put forward a motion to the next full Edinburgh Council meeting asking new toilets to be built – and asking why it has taken so long. It reads: 'No public toilets are present in the current scheme being developed despite the burden still existing on the site. 'The nearest public toilets are at the West End of Princes Street Gardens – a considerable distance away from a busy station and tram stop used by people making their way back from events with large crowds at Tynecastle and Murrayfield. 'Unfortunately, this leads to significant levels of public urination which is unpleasant and unhygienic.' She points to new build public toilets being introduced in the Meadows and Inverleith, and says all possible steps should be taken to introduce something similar in Haymarket. And she asks for the next meeting of the Culture and Communities Committee to include a report to explore building new toilets, including a consideration of a pay-to-use model, and for more information on why toilets have not yet been built. Oztas says that new public toilets would be helpful – but he would want them to be hygienic, as he worries unpleasant smells could drive customers away from the area. By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
