KNUTSFORD is well-known for its eclectic business community and quirky layout, and the two are set to converge with vacant spaces within toilet blocks set to be converted for commercial use.

The town council’s assets and operations committee has approved a £3,900 spend on developing plans to give the Bexton Road and King Street car park toilet blocks a new lease of life as part of the ‘Empty Spaces’ project.

While the existing toilet facilities will remain, it is proposed to create the new spaces alongside them and bring in just shy of £18,500 in annual rent.

Town clerk Adam Keppel-Garner said: “The committee has previously approved the process for bringing the currently void spaces within the King St and Bexton Road toilets into operational use as commercial spaces.

“The architects have now produced indicative plans of the space creatable in the units and provided a quotation for the next works.”

Initial plans for the Bexton Road site, located at the side of Booths and the bus shelter, suggest either a 312sq ft main office with a smaller private office and toilet facilities, or two smaller shell units of 215 to 237sq ft.

Meanwhile, in King Street, plans include a 355sq ft space with a smaller, already existing space of 86sq ft.

Proprety website Zoopla says 350sq ft can accommodate a large meeting room for up to 25 people, while 150sq ft could be used as a standard office for up to five people.

Town clerk Adam Keppel-Garner told committee members he had already had a number of initial enquiries as to the future use of the two buildings, without the spaces having been advertised.

An agent will advise on the most commercially viable Bexton Road option, with Whitebox Architecture using the £3,900 to produce construction drawings and specifications to enable the development of a tender.

Adam, along with three committee members, will appraise the tender submissions in due course.

At the meeting on Monday, committee member Cllrs Jonathan Farber and Christine Gray opposed the expenditure, unsuccessfully arguing that one space in isolation should be explored first.