A CONTROVERSIAL car wash can open in an empty pub car park, after a developer won an appeal against Basildon Council.

Turlbrook Properties, which owns the Railway Hotel, in Pitsea High Road, appealed to the Planning Inspectorate after the council refused permission for the temporary car wash.

The company has planning permission to convert the pub into shops and offices. However, it can not yet do this because of the recession and wanted the temporary car wash to get cash from the site in the meantime.

The council refused permission on the grounds it was out of keeping with the area and regeneration plans for Pitsea. It served a stop notice against a car wash business which opened there earlier this year.

However, the planning inspector disagreed with the council.

A report into his decision said: “The Railway public house is in a state of disrepair and is boarded up.

“Until such time as the site is redeveloped, it is realistic to assume the site, while remaining vacant, will continue to have such an unsightly appearance, which in my opinion downgrades the area.

“From my observations, this situation does little to spur investment in regenerating the town centre.

“The proposed temporary car wash would not be in keeping with the perceived appearance one would expect at such a location within a town centre regeneration scheme.

“Indeed, the site would remain unsightly and do little to contribute towards the regeneration initiative.

“In my opinion, the unsightly appearance would not downgrade the area to any greater degree than the current appearance of the site and at least it would establish the presence of an occupier on the site.”

He also placed a condition that the car wash can only operate on the site for a maximum of three years.