Plans to demolish a toilet block have been dumped after councillors voted against it.

The block on Sutton Green, which has been out of action since 2003, was due to be knocked down after the council was refused permission to turn it into a cafe by the landowner.

Despite Lord Tope inviting the unnamed Lady of the Manor to the House of Lords for tea and Councillor Lester Holloway offering to name the cafe after her, the Lady was not for turning.

A partial victory for the council was achieved this week when demolition plans were flushed down the pan at a Sutton Local Committee meeting.

Councillors are now hoping to put the block into use for the community.

Speaking against the proposal to demolish it at this weeks' Sutton Local Committee, Councillor Holloway said the community was behind keeping the block and turning it to good use.

Mr Holloway said: "It would have been a travesty to simply knock the block down with nothing to replace it.

"Recent efforts to turn it into a cafe floundered because the council couldn't grant a commercial lease due to the land being owned by a Lady of the Manor, but I haven't given up hope of a new community use for the building.

"Now that the toilet block is to be refurbished I hope we can establish a Friends of Sutton Green group to work out what the building can be used for, especially if we get planning gain money from the forthcoming redevelopment of the gasworks site."