The owner of Ewell Village's ex-public toilets is making a second attempt to get planning permission to turn them into two tiny homes.

The toilets, opposite Bourne Hall, in Spring Street, measure just 0.019 acres and 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 the village.

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

A first attempt to turn the toilets into two one-bedroom maisonettes failed, after Epsom’s councillors refused the application because it did not preserve the character and appearance of the village.

The owner of the toilets, stated on documents as a Mr M Uddin, appealed the decision to the Planning Inspectorate in October 2013.

The inspector rejected the appeal, saying: "I agree with the council that the proposed front boundary wall would be an oppressive and unduly dominant feature in the street scene.

"This leads me to conclude on the main issue that the proposed development would fail to preserve the character and appearance of the Ewell Village conservation area."

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The Ewell Village public toilets were auctioned off by Epsom Council for £68,000 

A new planning application has been submitted to Epsom Council, which has been supported by council officers, and will be considered by its planning committee on Thursday, January 16.

It proposes to build two one-bed dwellings "which would be set behind a continuation of the adjacent boundary walls, creating a small front yard for prospective occupants that would provide bin and cycle storage as well as creating some amenity space".

To date, one letter of objection has been received against the application with regards to traffic congestion to do with the building and the removal of the benches in front of the toilet block.

The new planning application seeks to address the reasons for the previous refusal by reducing the overall height of the building from the previously proposed 7m to 5.68m, and reducing the height of the front boundary wall from 2.5m to 1.5m, as well as the introduction of two metal entrance gates.