Lou’s View Former toilet now flushed with success
» How I turned a public toilet into a house with a view
FOR years, it was a place that people used in an emergency - and got out of as soon as they could.
But now a former public toilet block on the edge of Cheltenham is somewhere that visitors never want to leave.
In 2011, 58-year-old Louise Houston bought the isolated loo building at Cleeve Hill because she wanted her own bolthole in the area.
The businesswoman (pictured) who grew up in Stanley Pontlarge paid Tewkesbury Borough Council £35,000 at auction after the authority decided to sell off a handful of its loos.
Louise had just sold most of her stake in a hotel in Cornwall, and was keen to see more of her five children, aged between 21 and 40, who all now live in Gloucestershire.
Fast forward eight years, and the once cold and functional public conveniences have been transformed into a cosy two-up, twodown cottage. It’s now a soughtafter destination on Airbnb, with Louise charging £85 a night. In a nod to the similarity between its former use and her own name - and the gorgeous outlook - she’s called it Lou’s View.
“It came up for auction and I thought, ‘I could do something with that,’” said Louise. “I was looking for a bolthole.” She held her nerve at the auction, and snapped up the block, which she says was “looking tatty”.
She struggled for a few years to get planning permission to convert the building, with council planning officers keen to preserve its existing footprint. While she couldn’t build out, she managed to win permission to raise the roof slightly, allowing her to put in an upstairs floor.
As the project developed, the idea of putting it on Airbnb when she wasn’t using it began to grab her.
Lou’s View now boasts a kitchen diner, lounge, and downstairs loo, with two double bedrooms upstairs.
She started hiring it out last year and in July and August there were only three nights in each month when it wasn’t occupied.
It’s in demand during race week, and popular with couples.
Although booked up for Christmas, when Louise will lay on a tree, Lou’s View is always reserved for its owner when she wants to enjoy it. When she’s not there, Louise runs a mischievouslyacronymed bus and guide service in the Cornish village of Port Isaac, where the TV drama Doc Martin is filmed, called Port Isaac Shuttle Service.
She also owns a third of her old hotel in the village and is developing a taxi service.
One recent review said: “Such a lovely quirky little place. We travelled as a group of 4 (2 couples) and it was absolutely perfect.
“There are loads of lovely walks nearby and a pub within a few minutes’ walking distance. It’s the perfect little getaway in the Cotswolds.
“You get so much privacy here as the house backs onto Cleeve Common and has no other houses surrounding it.”
It came up for auction and I thought, ‘I could do something with that.’
Louise Houston