Elgin town centre shopping ‘too difficult’ for disabled people after St Giles closure, Moray resident claims
A disabled woman who frequently shopped at the now-closed St Giles Centre says shopping in Elgin is no longer feasible for people with disabilities.
Moray’s only shopping centre closed its doors on January 20 after businesses within the building received letters telling them to leave and remove all stock within just two weeks.
The closure has left those wishing to stay in Elgin scrambling to find new locations while others have opted to leave the town entirely.
Rothes resident Christine Garden believes people with disabilities have been particularly short-changed with the closure.
Ms Garden has osteoporosis and inflammatory arthritis. She can only walk a short distance and, consequently, uses an electric wheelchair.
The St Giles Centre was perfect for her needs with its enclosed space and ease of access but without it, Ms Garden says she will have to go elsewhere for her shopping.
She said: “I was shocked to be honest with you when I heard it was closing and at such short notice as well.
“There’s really little reason for me to come into Elgin anymore.
“It’s very disappointing especially for those of us who are disabled. It was really convenient for us but without having these shops together indoors it’s just too difficult now.
“When you’re disabled, you can’t go from one end of the town to the other to shop really so I think a lot of my shopping will be online now or outside of Elgin.”
The centre’s closure also meant the closure of its toilet facilities.
They were the only public toilets in the town centre with the nearest block Elgin’s Cooper Park.
A ‘comfort scheme’ is in place, however, which allows visitors to use facilities of certain businesses without purchasing any items from them.
Participating town centre businesses include The Drouthy Cobbler, Toscanas, The Muckle Cross and Parenthood Pathways.
Moray Council’s annexe on the High Street also offers free use of its facilities although only on weekdays.
But Ms Garden believes very little consideration has been taken for disabled people and has called for new public toilet facilities in the town centre.
“I think there has been a lack of consideration for disabled people here,” Ms Garden added.
“I contacted the council about my concerns and they sent me a list of the toilet facilities available in Elgin but that’s not enough in my view.
“If you’re shopping there now as a disabled person and you need to go to the toilet, you would have to go all the way down to the Muckle Cross which is a long way to go and there really aren’t many shops down that end either.
“The town centre needs public toilet facilities so hopefully somebody can intervene.
“Otherwise, Elgin really is going to become a ghost town.”