A leading Dundee charity has warned a lack of adequate toilet facilities at the new railway station could stop visitors coming to the city.
Jenny Miller, chief executive of PAMIS, was speaking after it was confirmed the new railway station will not have a “changing places” toilet.
These offer more space than regular accessible toilets and also feature a hoist to lift people with severe mobility issues.
A spokesman for the ScotRail Alliance said the situation was regrettable but there was no space for the enhanced toilet.
Ms Miller said the refusal to install adequate toilet facilities at Dundee’s new railway station could deter many people from travelling to Dundee at all.
She said pleas to install a changing spaces toilet at the station had been ignored.
Ms Miller said: “What ScotRail say is there isn’t enough footfall to justify it but they don’t know how much footfall there is going to be until the V&A opens.
“They also say there will be one at the V&A but if you are desperate for the loo then you don’t want to go that far.”
Ms Miller said she had been “very disappointed”.
She added the lack of public toilets is becoming a big problem for all people, able-bodied or not.
She said: “Toilets are going to be a huge public health issue because nobody is taking responsibility for them.
“I think there will be people who just feel they can’t go out because there is nowhere for them to go to the toilet.”
Only the station below ground level will be the responsibility of the Scotrail Alliance.
The building above ground is the responsibility of Dundee City Council.
Maryfield SNP councillor Lynne Short has said she will raise the issue on PAMIS’ behalf.
The convener of city development said: “I have written to Dundee City Council officers to ask them to write to Scotrail to ask them to reconsider the investment that they are making and to look to putting a changing place into plans.”
A ScotRail Alliance spokesperson said: “We are doing all we can to make rail travel as simple as possible for customers with disabilities.
“As part of the redevelopment of Dundee station, we will be investing in making disabled facilities more accessible. However, regrettably, there is simply no room for the installation of a changing places facility.”
