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27
Nov
Harrogate car wash facing enforcement requests one year to vacate site
A Harrogate car wash has requested a whole year to vacate its current premises as part of ongoing enforcement action - despite claiming to have just three pieces of equipment on-site.
Skipton Road Car Wash has been at the centre of an enforcement row with North Yorkshire Council for months for operating without planning permission.
Plans were submitted, withdrawn, re-submitted, rejected, appealed and dismissed – none of which deterred the car wash owner from trading – before the council began enforcement action on November 3.
Under the terms of the enforcement notice, which were revealed by the Stray Ferret earlier this month, Skipton Road Car Wash was given 60 days to cease all operations. This includes removing the two jet washers and one hoover used at the site, as well as on-site adverts.
But owner Mohammed Rasool Khader has now filed another appeal - this time against the enforcement notice - and has requested the business be granted a year to vacate the site.
The appeal application, submitted by Mohammed Ilyas of planning firm The Planning Person on behalf of Mr Khader, describes the 60-day window afforded to the car wash as “meagre” and claims Mr Khader has been left in a “dire and cornered position caused by unreasonableness by the council”.
The council said the applicant did not provide sufficient evidence to prove noise generated at the car wash would not have an adverse impact on neighbouring properties. However, Mr Ilyas claims the council has “failed to provide any substantive proof that noise emitting from the site is indeed detrimental” and accused the authority of succumbing to "pressure from a handful of neighbours".
He said:
This is all speculative, especially considering no such noise abatement notice has since operation been served on the owner. It is our opinion that the council has succumb [sic] to pressure from a handful of neighbours and has not done its due diligence in fair and impartial decision making.
The application says the council must consider staff currently employed at the car wash, tenancy obligations, stock and costs, and claims the 60-day window is “less than the notice period you give to leave a job role”.
Shutting the car wash not only impacts its owner, but also “all those employed and local community members who feel this is a vital amenity”, according to Mr Ilyas.
He adds:
It is for these reasons that we humbly request the inspector to provide at least one year (52 weeks) to wind down the business.
[A year would] provide enough period for workers to find alternative jobs (in the current job climate I hope you can appreciate how long this can take and consideration needs to be made for workers as they have rent and costs to cover); provide ample time for the owner to recoup some of his money he has spent in the business and also pay off overhanging/crippling debts; provide ample time for the owner to look and secure a different location and also enable the local patrons to find alternative car washes (patrons are wary of using a different car wash as they have built up a trust with Skipton Road Car Wash).
The council’s enforcement notice is dated September 25 – three weeks after the authority told us enforcement action was being taken – and did not take effect for another six weeks after that.
When we asked the council why the car wash was granted six weeks’ notice before the enforcement action went live, it declined to comment.
The council previously threatened court proceedings against the site if it failed to comply with the enforcement notice, but the authority later told the Stray Ferret “no legal action at present” had been taken.
This is just the latest twist in the long-running saga, which has been ongoing since December 2023. The car wash has repeatedly operated without authorisation and questions remain over local authorities' powers to tackle planning breaches.
'Necessary permissions must be obtained'
The Stray Ferret put the allegations made in the application to North Yorkshire Council.
Nic Harne, the authority's corporate director for community development, said:
We do not comment on live planning appeals, however would like to remind residents and businesses that the necessary permissions must be obtained before opening or operating a new site. If they fail to do so we will investigate and take appropriate action.
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