High Street car was plan approved

Building a car wash facility at the back of a Portishead pub will boost the High Street, according to those involved in the scheme.

That is the belief of pub bosses after plans to build a car wash on the market area behind The Poacher Pub were approved unanimously by North Somerset Council’s planning committee on November 11.

A pub spokesman said the car wash will provide an extra revenue stream for the establishment, which was almost closed in 2013.

He had hoped boosting market trade would be enough, but that had failed to catch on sufficiently and so he said it was necessary to look at an alternative use for the site, which backs on to the Roath Road free car park.

He added: “We hope by offering valeting, people will leave their cars and visit The Poacher Pub and look to shop in the area too.”

Some neighbours had raised concerns prior to the decision over noise and feared it would add to traffic problems at busy times.

However, with the car wash facility set to be used from 9am-6pm Monday to Saturday and 10.30am-6pm on Sunday, the council’s committee did not believe it would cause undue problems in a busy built up area, and especially with the pub opening beyond those times.

Members however insisted that the canopy and containers which are needed for the car wash are removed should it go out of business.

And no high pressure jet washers or power-driven machinery can be used at the site, unless they are approved by the council.