Tea for Toilets is huge success!

Release Date: Friday 4 September 2026

Pictured from left are Blairgowrie and District Rotary members Janine Seymour and Jennifer Somerville, Blairgowrie and District Rotary President Mark Lewis, and Loo Crew volunteers Pat Richards, Mary Mackay and Deborah Rogers.

Image courtesy of Clare McMicking / CraicN Communicatons

Tea for Toilets is huge success!

More than £850 raised for community-run public toilets in Blairgowrie and Rattray

Public-spirited volunteers from Blairgowrie and District Rotary presented a cheque for more than £850 to representatives from the Blairgowrie and Rattray Loo Crew recently.

The Loo Crew is a group of volunteers that got together just over two years ago to help save the public toilets in the east Perthshire town from closing.

The money was raised at a well-attended afternoon tea in Blairgowrie Town Hall, organised by Blairgowrie and District Rotary, and will go towards providing supplies for the community-run toilets.

Handing over the donation, president of Blairgowrie and District Rotary, Mark Lewis, commented: “The volunteers who keep the facilities in Blairgowrie open are to be commended for their dedication and their commitment to ensuring that the public toilets in our town were saved from closure and continue to open daily more than two years on.

“Put simply, if it wasn’t for the efforts of the volunteers there would be no public toilets in Blairgowrie and Rattray, and for that reason we are keen to support then in any way we can.

“Some of our Rotarians are also members of the Loo Crew – including Deborah who is the driving force behind the ‘Tea for the Toilets’ event. The afternoon teas have all been a great success, and it looks as though they may have become an annual event!

“We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported the afternoon tea, either by donating home baking or raffle prizes, or for coming along on the day and enjoying the refreshments.

“After costs, we were delighted to be able to donate £857 to the Loo Crew, money that we know will be well spent in our community.”

The public facilities are supported by Blairgowrie and Rattray Development Trust (BRDT), which leases the premises from Perth and Kinross Council (PKC), and a number of local businesses and organisations including Blairgowrie-based Castle Water Ltd and Graham Environmental Services, and Stagecoach.

An estmated 15,000 people have used the public toilets in the Wellmeadow since they were taken on by dedicated volunteers who were determined that Perthshire’s largest town would continue to provide a much valued service.

The Loo Crew is made up of more than a dozen volunteers who oversee the day-to-day operation of the public toilets, which are professionally cleaned, and since being taken on by the community in July 2024, the facilities are now open for longer, from 8am to 4pm. Comments on how well kept and clean the toilets are – and how needed they are – are regularly received.

Lesley McDonald is the operations officer at BRDT. She said: “We are very grateful to Deborah for organising such a successful event once again and to the rest of Blairgowrie and District Rotary for their ongoing support of the Loo Crew and the public toilets in the town. “The facilities are well-used, demonstrating that there is a need for publicly available toilets, and the Loo Crew and our self-employed cleaners do a fantastic job.

“Securing the public toilets as an asset for Blairgowrie and Rattray is a great example of how BRDT can support our community to make a positive difference for those who live, work and visit our town.”
BRDT is a community-led organisation that works towards combining community-led action with an enterprising approach to addressing and tackling local needs and issues and creating social, economic and environmental strength in the town. It is a registered charity with community membership and is supported by a wider network of Scottish organisations.

Donations can be made online on the Discover Blairgowrie website or via bank transfer - email [email protected] for details.  Anyone who would like to volunteer as part of the Loo Crew, or businesses that can donate a service or supplies, should also email [email protected]

For further informa on or media enquiries, please contact Clare McMicking on telephone 07514 343 042 or email [email protected]

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