New Edinburgh hand car washing and valeting facility approved at West Granton Road car park next to pub

The application by Best Hand Washed Car Wash for a new car wash on 0.11 hectares of land to the rear of a large retail store at 154 West Granton Road was submitted in July.

It was referred for determination by the development management sub-committee at the discretion of the council’s chief planning officer, as Granton and District Community Council objected, but on a non-statutory basis.

The development will comprise a grey timber clad office/store structure, two covered valet bays and two uncovered wash bays.

Access to the site of the new car washing facility from West Granton Road is gained in between the United Wire factory and the Anchor Inn pub. | Google Maps

Objecting, George Gordon from the local community council said: “The site proposed will not lend itself well to this type of activity.

“West Granton Road is an extremely busy and a main arterial route for traffic and buses, it is effectively on a blind corner next to extremely busy shops which are predominantly accessed by pedestrians and has the potential to create standing traffic which would create additional problems on an already busy junction.

“Vehicles waiting to join a potential queue would also create further delays for buses and other road users and hamper pedestrians, so we believe is it a real public safety issue.

“Whilst we welcome new businesses in general, this application we believe would only cause issues.

“The other concern that was discussed was where does the waste water actually go? We have an infrastructure system that is already working at full capacity, the public drainage system is having difficulty coping and a lot of standing water is now being evidenced at street level.”

The detailed plans showing the set-up of the new car wash in Granton, Edinburgh. | City of Edinburgh Council

Despite this objection, the sub-committee approved the plans, adding: “The proposals are acceptable in principle, and they will not adversely impact residential amenity or the character and appearance of the surroundings.

“They raise no material issues in respect of flooding, drainage, pollution, or transport. There are no compelling material considerations for not approving the proposals.

“The land is not specifically allocated for business, general industrial or storage and distribution purposes by the LDP. The nature and very small scale of the proposals are compatible with the mixed used character of the site's immediate surroundings.

“A hand car washing and valeting facility is unlikely to generate significant levels of noise to the detriment of the nearest residential properties. These are located to the south of the site above the commercial premises on West Granton Road.

“The site is brownfield land, and it has little to no ecological value or scope for improvement owing to the nature of the historic land uses.

“Although the proposals would generate vehicle movements, this must be balanced against the current parking/storage operations occurring on the land which create journeys. Any increase in vehicle movements as a result of the proposals would not be significant.

“The site is not at risk of flooding. Water used would drain to an existing road gully through a new drainage channel with silt traps.”

The site plan shows the layout of the car washing facility to be run by Best Hand Washed Car Wash. | City of Edinburgh Council

The site is bounded by a retail/manufacturing premises to the south and a car park and unadopted road leading to the rear of a hot food takeaway and public house to the east. Access to West Granton Road is to the north via another unadopted road.

The hand car washing and valeting business in Granton will operate from 9am until 6pm, with four full-time staff and three part-time staff members carrying out an estimated 40 car washes each day.