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29
Jul
Government inspector issues verdict on Harrogate car wash appeal
An appeal lodged by the owners of a Harrogate car wash after plans to operate the site were rejected has been dismissed.
Plans to convert the former Jewson builder’s merchant site on Skipton Road into a car wash and valeting station were originally submitted to North Yorkshire Council in December 2023.
The proposal was withdrawn the following March, but operations at Skipton Road Car Wash continued despite no additional applications being put forward.
This led the council to launch an enforcement investigation in October 2024, but the enforcement action was quickly suspended after the applicants, listed as Mr Adnan Rusool and Mr Mohammed Khader, lodged fresh plans the following month.
The plans were rejected due to a lack of information about noise mitigation - although a noise impact impact assessment supporting the proposal had been provided - which prompted the applicants to appeal the decision.
However, the Planning Inspectorate, the government body which deals with planning disputes, dismissed the appeal in a decision notice published this week.
The planning inspector, who visited the site on July 15, said the main issue with the car wash was the “effect on the living conditions of the occupiers of neighbouring properties…with particular regard to noise”.
Skipton Road Car Wash operating on November 5 last year.
He cited a noise impact assessment that was carried out at the Skipton Road site, which judged the noise of two jet washers used at the same time.
But, as the number of proposed car washing bays has not been disclosed, the inspector could not be certain the operation would be confined to just two jet washers.
The noise generated by vacuums or other relevant equipment had also not been accounted for, the inspector said.
The decision notice added that, although the assessment indicates the noise levels would not be intrusive, the inspector could not be sure the noise and general disruption created by car engines, car doors slamming, car radios and people talking had been taken into account.
The decision notice also said:
The council do not dispute the competency of the appellants’ noise consultant, and I have no reason to disagree.
However, I am not persuaded that the information provided robustly demonstrates that noise from the appeal proposal would result in an acceptable noise environment for neighbouring occupiers. I have considered whether the council’s proposed condition requiring further noise monitoring would overcome these concerns and have concluded that it would not.
For the above reasons, there is an unacceptable risk that the operation of the premises as a car wash and valet facility could adversely affect the living conditions of the occupiers of neighbouring properties.
According to the decision notice, the applicants were “unaware that planning permission was required” for the change of use of the premises – despite two planning applications having been submitted – but the inspector said this could not be taken into account when determining the outcome of the appeal.
The dismissal is the latest twist in a long-running saga at the site, which the Stray Ferret has covered extensively.
We have asked North Yorkshire Council if enforcement action will be considered at the site following the Planning Inspectorate's verdict.
You can read more about the car wash and its planning history by clicking here and here.
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