The toilets in the Memorial Park have been closed for several years and those in the High Street have been the target of vandals and are badly in need of refurbishment.

Previously, Aberdeenshire Council officials said the village would only get one toilet, either in the park or in the High Street, but no firm decision was taken at that time.

At Monday's meeting of the community council, Laurencekirk representative Jim Stuart reopened the toilet debate, saying their would soon be a state of the art play park in the park, but no toilet facilities for the children using it.

Chairman David Nelson said: "We still maintain we want two toilets, our position hasn't changed.

"The toilets in the High Street have been vandalised and no one wants to use them and there is nothing at the play park. We must continue to argue strongly for what we want."

Shirley Castles was of the opinion that Aberdeenshire Council would never agreed to two toilets and said that the cost of reopening the toilet at the Memorial Park would be astronomical.

Mr Stuart then referred to planning gain money and asked where cash collected from Laurencekirk developments was going.

"Is this money set aside for Laurencekirk or is it going into a central pot? There has been more than enough taken in from Laurencekirk to refurbish these toilets and improve the quality of life for everyone."

Councillor George Carr said that up to now, planning gain money had been used for affordable housing and these could be built anywhere.

Mr Stuart responded: "Planning gain is just another tax on the individual. It is not paid by the developer, he just adds it on to the price of the houses."