Greggs the bakers on Alloa High Street have been left in a sticky situation with their seating area - after it was revealed it cannot be used due to no customer toilets in the building.

During the shop’s refurbishment in September, a brand new seating area was installed in the new look Greggs in the hope of attracting people to use the bakers as a place to stop in.

However since the re-opening many customers have become aware that the seating area is continuously closed off. This has prompted many questions to staff as to why, despite a designated area for sitting, it is not in use.

Last week Clackmannanshire Council told the Advertiser the reason behind this is due to building regulations which mean the building must have customer toilets in place in order to accommodate people eating and drinking food in the shop.

Councillor Donald Balsillie, Enterprise and Environment Convenor, said, “I can confirm that the council contacted Greggs in September last year pointing out that Building Standards Regulations require adequate customer toilets, both able bodied and accessible, to be provided when food or drink is intended to be consumed on the premises.

“I appreciate what Greggs are trying to do, but they have to follow the regulations which aim to improve customer services and standards.” When contacted by the Advertiser, a Greggs spokesperson said, “Having listened to our customers we recognise the demands of the modern retail environment are changing, so we continue to enhance what Greggs has to offer for the convenience of its customers - an important feature of our new bakery food-on-the-go format shops is the provision of seating for customers where possible. “We are currently working through the design and building control issues surrounding internal seating in retail units in Scotland, with the Building Standards Division and local authorities and hope to be in a position to comment further in the near future.”