CONTROVERSIAL plans to convert an old public toilet adjacent to a school playing field into a one-bedroom home have been approved.
Gwynedd Council’s planning committee met on Monday and approved plans for a public toilet - located at the foot of Ysgol y Traeth’s playground on Marine Terrace, Barmouth - to be turned into a house.
The plans regarding the defunct toilet block, which closed in 1997, have caused much consternation for the school and local community in recent years after Barmouth Community Council tried to buy it for the community, only to be “gazumped” by a private buyer.
The new owners, a couple from Oldham, submitted plans for a two-storey building with windows which looked out over the school’s playing fields, but the application was withdrawn last year.
The new proposals, passed on Monday with conditions, will see the toilet block transformed into a raised single-storey dwelling, to allow for any potential flooding.
Ann Griffith, a governor and ex-pupil of the primary school, reiterated concerns that the public toilet overlooks the school playing field and noted that children often use the back wall of the toilet block to play football.
Elaine Taylor, who will live in the property, expressed that her work took her all over Wales and the property’s location suited her needs.
She also claimed that by converting the public loo, she would prevent the building from becoming delapidated and “an eyesore”.
She concluded by stating she was in contact with the school’s head teacher and was happy to continue to do so.