A Harrogate car-wash that has been trading for more than two years without permission has finally been granted planning consent at the fifth time of asking.

The Stray Ferret has reported on every development in the case of the Skipton Road car-wash, which has finally been resolved – after four applications and two appeals – in favour of the applicant.

Repeated attempts

Plans to operate a car-wash from the former Jewson site on Skipton Road were originally put forward in December 2023, but withdrawn the following March.

The car-wash continued to operate without planning permission, prompting North Yorkshire Council to launch an enforcement investigation in October 2024.

However, enforcement action was quickly suspended after the business owners, Adnan Rusool and Mohammed Khader, submitted a new planning application the following month.

Those plans were rejected, the owners appealed, but that was also dismissed. Nevertheless, the car-wash continued to operate.

So in July 2025, North Yorkshire Council ordered the car-wash to cease trading. When that did not happen, the council served an enforcement notice in September 2025, requiring Skipton Road Car Wash to cease all operations within 60 days.

But this time, Mr Khader took the matter to the government’s Planning Inspectorate, filed another appeal – this time against the enforcement notice – and asked for a whole year to vacate the site, even though the only assets that needed to be removed consisted of two jet washers, one hoover, and advertising signs and flags.

Appealing on behalf of Mr Khader, planning agent Mohammed Ilyas described the 60-day window as “meagre” and complained of the council’s “unreasonableness”.

But the government inspector didn’t see it that way, and rejected the appeal in June 2026, saying:

By that time, though, Mr Khader had already submitted amended plans which include the construction of a single-storey extension, and these were finally approved on Friday (September 11) – albeit with conditions.

Conditions

In his latest application, Mr Khader stated that wastewater would be disposed of via a soakaway and the main sewer.

But following a recommendation by Yorkshire Water, the planning consent stipulates a detailed wastewater disposal scheme that includes, among other things, measures to separate oil petrol and grit from any runoff from the site.

Other conditions cover operating restrictions – for example, no more than two vehicles may be washed or valeted at a time, and that must be done indoors.

The owner must also operate within the restrictions of the approved site noise management plan, and mean noise levels must not exceed 72 decibels – about the same volume as a hairdryer or busy street traffic.