A BID to win permission for a car wash in the grounds of a closed Cowley community centre has been refused on appeal.

Younis Ali appealed to the Planning Inspectorate after Oxford City Council refused the plan for land at the back of St Dominic Hall, in Hollow Way.

Mr Ali applied for permission, which covered a period of two years and included an office building, to operate 9am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday.

He owns the hall and told the inspectorate he plans to reopen it and would close the car wash if required when this happened.

The council rejected the plan over fears it would prejudice the permanent reuse of the hall.

The inspectorate’s Jacqueline Wilkinson has now upheld the council’s decision.

She said: “I accept that he is unlikely to operate the car wash if it prejudices the more profitable use of the building.”

But she went on: “The additional vehicle movements arising from the proposed carwash would be likely to cause a risk to the safety of highway users. I also conclude that the operation of the carwash would be likely to prejudice the timely economic reuse of the existing building.”

 

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