Glens Councillor Cara McShane and Rathlin Island
The potential to build a Changing Places toilet facility on Rathlin Island is to be explored by Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council.
Changing Places toilets are larger accessible toilets for disabled people, with equipment such as hoists, curtains, adult-sized changing benches and space for carers.
At a meeting of the council’s Environmental Services Committee on Tuesday, September 12, councillors passed a motion to consider the options to build a facility on the island.
The motion was proposed by Glens Sinn Fein Councillor Cara McShane and seconded by Glens Sinn Fein Councillor Maighréad Watson.
Along with considering the provision of the Changing Places facility, the motion also states that the council should recognise “the importance of Changing Places toilets in delivering our vision of an accessible and inclusive Causeway Coast and Glens”.
Additional modifications put forward for Rathlin include providing better access from the toilet facility on the island to the beach and providing better access to boats through portable hoists.
Cllr McShane highlighted the “great work” that has been undertaken to improve accessibility on Benone Beach and on the boardwalk in Ballycastle.
She emphasised that the accessibility of Rathlin Beach could be made “much better with very little modification”.
She added: “That’s something that could be further explored.”