Tyndrum Needs a Changing Places Toilet
Changing Places are specialised washrooms kitted out for those that need to be hoisted onto the toilet. Currently, there’s a shortage of these crucial facilities in the West Scotland the area bigger than the size of Wales (see the map below).
Changing Places Toilet facilities are crucial for severely disabled people and their families to enable them to travel about rural Scotland comfortably and with dignity.
We understand the challenges severely disabled people face, especially concerning the difficulties of travelling, first hand and it's also one of the key reasons why we started a charity called The Tyndrum Infrastructure Group (TIG, SC051750) in 2022 with the primary objective of building a CPT for Tyndrum.
Why Tyndrum?
Geographically, Tyndrum is a strategic hub with millions of vehicles passing through every year.
At a workshop in 2021 run by Calmac and Pamis (a Scottish charity that works solely with people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and their families for a better life.) it was decided that Tyndrum was the number 1 priority for a CPT facility in Scotland.
Location Secured, Planning Permission Obtained
Although our journey began 7 years ago, the Tyndrum Infrastructure Group (TIG) was officially constituted only in 2022.
In 2021, we were fortunate enough to secure a grant that enabled us to carry out a Feasibility Study. We are most grateful to the Strathfillan Community Development Trust who whole-heartedly supported us.
More recently, we achieved a major breakthrough in our efforts when we reached an in-principle agreement with The Green Welly Stop to use their vacant site adjacent to their complex as the location for a new CPT.
We then completed a Development Feasibility Study on the proposed site which has yielded a costed design report and a draft legal agreement.
In November 2023, we obtained a planning permission.
Put Your Name To It
Sign Our Petition
We want to unlock the £10m funding pot pledged in the SNP's 2021 election manifesto, which is why we launched a parliamentary petition to raise this issue with the Scottish Government. This petition has been discussed but funds have not yet been released.
Sign The Petition
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Talk up the Campaign
Help us reach as many people as possible and raise awareness of the importance of Changing Places Toilets facilities and the difference they can make to people's quality of life.
Share our petition, share our crowdfunding page, share our press release, share this page, share our social media posts, share our promotional video.
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Time to Build
Spend a Penny Scotland
We are now in the position to apply for planning permission and raise the capital necessary to build the changing places facility which is estimated to be approximately £250K.
Building the Changing Places Toilet in our beautiful village of Tyndrum will have an immense benefit for disabled individuals and their families. These facilities will be located at The Green Welly Stop and will enable many people to enjoy the beauty of the Scottish Highlands.
To build these essential facilities, we are currently fundraising £10,000.
Can you help us reach our target amount by spending a few pennies or pounds on our Crowdfunder page? just click on the button below.
I want to Spend a Penny
Overcoming Challenges
1. EDUCATION
Scotland prides itself in being an inclusive and accessible country. However, how can we make this claim if a great number of individuals do not have access to appropriate toilet facilities when travelling.
Furthermore, there is a lack of knowledge about the changing places facilities and what they are for. Unless you've been in a situation where you or somebody closest to you needs it, it's unlikely you know of their existence. This needs to be addressed with education, education, education.
2. LOCATION
Accessing land for community development and infrastructure improvements is a challenging and sometimes very complex problem that can take years to overcome. For example, we have been trying to establish a CPT in Tyndrum for over 6 years.
Land is often in the hands of only a few people who tend to be wealthy. If they don't want to engage or help the community, this can present a potential showstopper.
The process for acquiring land for rural community development for infrastructure improvement needs to be simplified. Additionally, there needs to be more willingness from authorities to use Compulsory Purchase Orders and other levers to help groups like ours.
3. FUNDING
The 2021 SNP election manifesto contained a pledge for a £10m funding pot to be set aside which was promised to improve the network of CPTs throughout Scotland and bring them into line with the network in England.
To date, this fund has not opened and there are no details about when it will open and what criteria will be used for awarding funds to projects.
We now intend to launch a parliamentary petition to raise this issue with the Scot Gov and unlock the fund. Please support us in anyway you can including our Spend a Penny Scotland crowdfunder.
