Ex-public toilets earmarked to become two tiny homes are back on the market for a staggering £200,000.

After an earlier planning application was rejected, and an appeal to a planning inspector failed, Epsom councillors approved, in January, a revamped application to turn the ex-Ewell Village public toilets, opposite Bourne Hall, in Spring Street, Ewell, into two one-bedroom homes.

The mini maisonettes would be built on a site which measures just 0.019 acres after the toilets were auctioned off by the cash-strapped council in May 2012 for £68,000 - a move which was described as "degrading" by the elderly population of Ewell village.

They were then sold on to a mystery buyer for more than £80,000 with planning permission.

The little amenities are now up for grabs again for nearly three times as much.  C.S. J. Agents are selling the site - a "residential development opportunity with planning granted to demolish existing buildings and create two one bedroom dwellings" - with a guide price of £200,000.

Your Local Guardian:

The Epsom Guardian's take on an early artist's impression of development on the site

Matt Pomeroy, of C.S.J Agents, said: "We may have an offer on the site but we not quite sure at the moment.  We are still negotiating.

"There are difficulties in it as there is a tree behind it and there is a preservation order on it.  It’s quite a tight space.

"There are also restrictions on deliveries during construction and the bus stop will have to be moved temporarily. 

"It’s not the easiest development site."

He said he understood the public toilets had been sold by the council because they were under-used, in proportion to the cost of keeping them open, and because of problems around "cottaging".

When asked why Epsom Council did not formulate plans for the site itself, grant planning permission and then sell the site on for more money - a spokesman said its sale was the "most transparent way of disposing with the asset".

He said: "The sales price from the council was what the toilets were worth as they were in 2012 - which was an excellent result for the council taxpayer.

"Developers have invested in the acquisition plus legal fees, survey charges, having plans drawn up, etc, and received planning permission - which they may not have received. 

"The developer is now attempting to obtain a sum they may or may not get which they believe the site is now worth.

"The site could have been, and still could be, developed in a number of ways - the market was the best way of establishing this."

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What do you think about the tale of the toilets?  Contact Hardeep Matharu on the newsdesk by emailing hmatharu@london.newsquest.co.uk or leave a comment below.

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