Angus Council has been challenged to “step up to the mark” after a £26.5 million community campus was built without disability-friendly facilities.
The Brechin campus opened in February and promised “the very best of modern facilities for residents of all ages” and a replacement for the town’s ageing high school.
These facilities included a pool with accessibility adaptations for swimmers, including a hoist for those with severe disabilities.
But the council has been criticised after it emerged the campus was not built with Changing Places (CP) certified changing rooms and toilets, despite consultation with campaigners.
The local authority has promised that its next flagship secondary at Forfar, a £38.9m building due to open in February, will be “fully compliant”.
Based at Dundee University, PAMIS is the only organisation in Scotland that works solely with people with profound and multiple learning disabilities.
Its national CP campaign aims to provide standard disabled toilets and changing rooms.
Lois Speed has spearheaded local moves to install CP toilets since she found her teenagers Kelsey and Kein felt excluded from many activities due to issues around their muscular dystrophy.
The 37-year-old raised more than £10,000 for PAMIS with a Loo Tour raising awareness of the standard, and celebrated when Angus Council helped build a CP toilet in her native Arbroath.
However she is now “frustrated” that feedback into the design of Brechin was not acted on.
She said: “I am speaking on behalf of a community of people who need these facilities.
“After speaking to us, Angus Council did say future developments would have CP standard toilets.
“It’s such a shame and quite frustrating that it’s a community campus and lots of money has been spent on it but not enough time has been taken to make sure it’s going to meet everyone’s needs.
“There’s a hoist to help people into the pool who might not make it that far because they can’t get changed or use the toilet.”
Jill Scott, treasurer of Brechin Community Council, said the group is committed to supporting PAMIS in implementing the standard.
“We are appalled that Angus Council have got this so wrong despite early consultation between Angus Council and PAMIS,” she said.
“The community campus has state-of-the-art equipment to enable disabled members of the public to enter the swimming pool, but the changing facilities are inadequate, resulting in people missing out on swimming which is sometimes the only form of exercise they can participate in.”
An Angus Council spokesman said the authority is looking to upgrade Brechin’s toilets.
He said: “The excellent facilities at the Brechin Community Campus are compliant with technical standards, but we have been made aware that they do not provide a fully compliant Changing Places standard facility at present.
“Discussions we had with PAMIS regards Changing Places facilities in Angus came after plans for the Brechin campus were fully advanced.
“They did, however, ensure that Forfar Community Campus will include a Changing Places facility.
“While standards required by legislation are currently met by the Brechin facilities, we are exploring what options are available to us to provide access to an enhanced facility within the campus.”
