GARAGE PLANS DON’T WASH WITH FAMILIES
Residents say they already have to put up with ‘loud’ noise
FAMILIES have won their fight to stop a new hand car wash being set-up at a garage on a busy stretch of the A34.
Plans had been submitted to Cheshire East Council to add the facility to the Congleton Autos site on Newcastle Road in Congleton.
A number of residents had opposed the plans based on the proximity to nearby houses and the impact of additional cars on the A34.
A report into the development said: “The garage and MOT building and the existing canopy are to be retained as part of the scheme.
“The design of the proposed structures would be functional and appropriate to the uses that they will serve.
“It is considered that there would not be any significant impact on the street scene over and above the existing scenario.”
Peolive living on Padgbury Lane opposed the plan.
One said: “My home and garden back onto the proposed site for the car wash. I hear substantial noise from the power jets that are currently being used to wash cars for sale at the garage.
“This is audible from both inside and outside my home. If cars are being washed when we are in our back garden the noise is incredibly loud.
“If a car wash were to be in operation the number of cars being washed would increase significantly and I have serious concerns about the effect this will have both upon my family’s health and wellbeing.”
Another added: “There is no need for a car wash in this area, we have so many.
“The idea of having cars entering and leaving so near the junction to Padgbury Lane and
the road to Astbury Mere makes me shudder.
“This will cause accidents and it’s a crossing area for children.”
Congleton Town Council also opposed the plans echoing a 2018 Cheshire East decision for a similar plan that said queuing traffic would make it difficult to turn out of Padgbury Lane.
Planners at Cheshire East refused the latest proposal.
In a report, the council said: “The local authority considers that the development is unacceptable in principle by virtue of the impact on the residential amenity through environmental disturbance arising from the proposed use.”