Public toilets in Ewell Village have been sold to a mystery buyer for £68,000.

The facilities, opposite Bourne Hall, were auctioned last Thursday, May 24, by the council in a move described as "degrading" by residents earlier this month.

A council spokesman said the money raised by the sale "will be reinvested into the services the council provides" and is not aware of the new owners’ plans for the building or the site.

The utilities, which were open from 6am to 7pm, were closed in April 2010, along with those in Stoneleigh Broadway and Upper High Street car park.

Epsom and Ewell council decided that the closure would save £21,000 a year and negotiations were made with local businesses and organisations to allow the public use of their facilities.

But Stoneleigh councillor Darren Dale said he is still being contacted by worried residents who feel they have been left without effective alternatives to use.

Councillor Dale said: "I think it is degrading to sell the toilets as they are a basic need.

"They cost £7,000 a year to run, and where are the alternatives the council suggested? Bourne Hall library is not open on Monday or Sunday.

"I think it is fair for people to say ‘how dare you?’.

"The Ewell Village toilets may have been sold, but the others are just sitting there. The landowners are not interested, the Residents’ Association are not interested.

"There was such adverse reaction to the toilets closing at the time that to go back on it now would be to look weak."

The toilets were sold by London-based auctioneers Barnard Marcus, but the council spokesman said he could not reveal the identity of the new owners until the sale is completed next month.

He added: "The decision to sell the toilets, which have been closed for two years, was not taken lightly and follows a 27 per cent grant cut from central government over the past two years.

The council is expecting further cuts and we would not have been able to re-open the toilets.

"In order to continue to supply the services we do, within the present economic climate, the sale of this asset was an inevitable."

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