Permanent Telford car wash bid rejected - despite decade of temporary consent
A car wash has been refused permanent permission to operate on the grounds of a Telford social club, despite being there on temporary consent for a decade.
Sundeep Patel applied for a full change of use for a section of the car park at The Venue in Madeley and retrospective permission for a metal canopy, built to protect washers from bad weather.
Telford and Wrekin Council refused permission last August, so Mr Patel appealed. This week The Planning Inspectorate upheld the authority’s decision.
Government-appointed inspector Rob Cooper wrote that the converted storage container, used as a waiting room, the catering trailer and the canopy were “utilitarian”, “industrial” and “incongruous” with the residential surroundings on Queen Street.
Temporary planning permission for the Sparkles Hand Car Wash and Valeting Centre and a catering van was first approved in 2010 and subsequently renewed. Mr Patel’s 2019 application aimed to make it and the newly-added canopy permanent.
In an application letter, planning agent Malcolm Jones of Shifnal-based Prism Design said the car wash had been operating without any problems, and Mr Patel had the canopy built “to allow the valeting of vehicles in inclement weather”.
In his appeal decision notice, Mr Cooper writes that “the prevailing character of the area is residential”.
'Stark'
“However,” he adds, “the waiting room is in full view of passers-by and from the residential properties opposite.
“The industrial appearance of the container appears in stark contrast to the surrounding buildings, which are predominantly constructed in brick.
“Whilst I accept the container is kept in good order and decoration, and it screens the service yard to the rear of the shops, its utilitarian appearance is not in keeping.”
The steel-framed pitched canopy, he adds, is set back from the road but is a “prominent and incongruous feature”. Its “rudimentary industrial appearance”, Mr Cooper adds, is “at odds with the predominantly brick buildings surrounding the site”.
The catering trailer, he said, was not on the site when he visited in February, but drawings submitted with the application show it to have a “utilitarian box-like form” that is “out of kilter with the neighbouring properties”.
“I understand the council has previously granted planning permission on a temporary basis for the container and the catering trailer,” Mr Cooper adds.
“This was to allow more permanent solutions to be devised by the appellant. Based on the evidence before me, this has not been forthcoming, and temporary permissions do not provide justification to allow the proposal on a permanent basis.”
