New Changing Places Toilet Announced for Tyndrum

Following a six-year campaign to build a Changing Places Toilet (CPT) in the Stirlingshire village of Tyndrum, Tyndrum Infrastructure Group (TIG) in collaboration with The Green Welly Stop is delighted to announce that work will begin to build the facility this month at The Green Welly Stop.

The project will finally be able to break ground following the announcement of a major award from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, with further funding support from the Hugh Fraser Foundation.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund, part of the UK Government’s commitment to communities, allocated £4.3 million to Stirling Council to distribute to local groups and businesses.

The campaign to build a CPT in Tyndrum was launched six years ago by Sarah Heward, the Founder and Co-Owner of The Real Food Cafe in Tyndrum after her father became ill and died from a degenerative neurological illness.

Changing Places Toilets are for disabled people and those with life limiting conditions, their families and carers, for whom a standard accessible toilet is not adequate to meet their needs. Currently there are no suitable facilities for many miles in any direction of Tyndrum.

Tyndrum is a strategic hub in Scotland with millions of vehicles passing through each year. To date, there has been a shortage of these crucial facilities in the West
of Scotland with a black hole in provision larger than the size of Wales, preventing disabled people from travelling to the West Coast or taking a day out with the same level of dignity and comfort enjoyed by the rest of the population.

The Green Welly Stop very kindly offered to provide not only the land required free of charge, but also to provide all cleaning and care of facility to ensure a top-class toilet for those in need.

Sarah Heward, Owner of The Real Food Café

Commenting on the news, Sarah said: “We are extremely fortunate to have finally been awarded the funding necessary to build the facility in Tyndrum and we’re looking forward to work starting on site at The Green Welly Stop later this month, with a view to opening the CPT next Spring. A Changing Places Toilet in Tyndrum will be transformational for those that need it.’

There have been many obstacles to building this facility in Tyndrum, starting with access to suitable land. We are very grateful that The Green Welly Stop came forward with the offer of a plot on which to build it, without which this project would not be happening. The financing to date has come largely from the UK Government, the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority and Forth Valley and Lomond Community Led Local Development Fund.

This has not been an easy campaign to manage, and we have found ourselves feeling extremely disheartened at many points, however our small community-based charity has remained focussed on our vision of building a CPT in Tyndrum and we are absolutely over the moon that this vision will start to become a reality later this month.”

Edward Robertson, Partner at The Green Welly Stop: “The Green Welly Stop would like to thank the grant funding bodies for enabling this project to go ahead. Congratulations must go to Sarah Heward and the Tyndrum Infrastructure
Group for their long-term commitment to ensure this much needed facility is built in our crossroads to the Highlands.

Here at The Green Welly Stop we are famous for our clean toilets almost as much as our home-made soup and all the other services we provide. These new toilet facilities will be maintained to the highest standards at all times.”

Stirling Council Deputy Leader, Cllr Gerry McGarvey, said: “It is great to see the breadth of support that the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will provide to local businesses, people and communities. The funding will support those people and
organisations with the greatest needs, ensuring that opportunities to develop and grow are available to all.

The Changing Place Toilet facility is an important addition to Tyndrum and responds to the needs and wishes of the local community and visitors. We want as many people as possible to be able to enjoy the stunning surroundings of the Stirling area and, from Tyndrum, even further north of our beautiful country. 

Providing facilities such as this will allow people with complex disabilities and those who care for them to visit Tyndrum without anxieties about accessing appropriate toilet facilities.

Stirling Council is committed to equality of opportunity in our communities and I’d like to thank everybody involved in the installation of this facility.”