Thinking of a Car Wash? can I get planning approval?
June 9th 2010
We are getting increasing enquiries from owners about this matter so have prepared a short Note
A car wash in the car park at your garden centre may seem a logical use of underused space, but planning permission may be required for the change of use, and also the provision of operational development such as hardstandings, containers, walls and canopies etc.
Case law indicates that for development to be considered ancillary, it must be ‘ordinarily incidental' to the primary use. It is not clear whether a car wash use would ordinarily be expected to be incidental to a garden centre. That said, as more retailers provide ancillary car washes as part of the overall retail offer there may come a point when a car wash is considered ‘ordinarily incidental' to a garden centre.
Car washes raise issues which your local planning authority may feel cause problems: these include such issues as noise, surface water run-off, effluent discharge, increased traffic etc, although with the advent of ‘green' car wash products and techniques some of these issues may reduce in future.
For the time being, planning authorities are likely to insist on a planning application being made for a car wash. That is not to say such a use would be unsuitable, but that the development needs to be assessed through due process.
When putting an application together there are a few things to consider which may help the application progress smoothly: have you chosen the best location for the car wash? can any impact be mitigated against? can visual impact be reduced? is a canopy required? can information be provided regarding sustainable ‘linked trips'? will the car wash impact on the free flow of traffic or highway safety? consider using biodegradable detergents and products which reduce water usage; and ensure any necessary discharge consents are in place.
For those garden centres within the Green Belt, it is often asserted the introduction of a car wash is considered inappropriate development which should not be allowed unless there are very special circumstances. However ‘PPG2: Green Belts' indicates a change of use may not necessarily be inappropriate providing it does not impact on the openness of the green belt. Therefore, if the car wash does not involve operational development (i.e. structures or buildings) it should follow very special circumstances may not need to be demonstrated.
For further information contact Tracy Hubbard at Malcolm Scott Consultants Ltd.