The car park of a derelict pub in Reading that was once used as a car wash has been brought back into use.
The Restoration pub in Oxford Road, Tilehurst, has been closed for a number of years, which led to part of its car park being taken over by the Diamond Wash car washing company.
Diamond Wash was established in 2009 but it was forced to close by Reading Borough Council officers in early 2020.
At the time, a Reading Borough Council spokesperson said enforcement action to close Diamond Wash had taken place as its permission to operate there had expired in 2013.
Since then, the area has been boarded up.
But now, a new car wash has been established by Car Wash Five Star Ltd.
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Paul Chiritescu-Tanasa, the manager of the company, said: “Our place at The Restoration is open already, it opened last Monday (October 31).
“The lease at our place in London Road is finished, and we’ve been there for about five years.”
Car Wash Five Star was previously located at 261 London Road in East Reading, between its junctions with Regent Street and Cholmeley Road.
Wash prices range from £10 for a hand wash to £60 for a valet clean, according to prices posted this February.
The site in Oxford Road is open from 8.30am-7.30pm on weekdays, and 9am-7pm on weekends and Bank Holidays.
Car Wash Five Star has recently submitted a noise assessment to Reading Borough Council, which was a condition of its approval.
The plant for the car wash consists of two high pressure pumps contained in brick enclosures and two vacuum cleaners.
An overhead plan of the site shows two jet washing areas, a storage hut and a drying and vacuuming area.
The noise assessment was conducted by Deane Austin Associates and submitted to the council on Sunday, October 27.
It involved assessing the level of noise coming from the car wash to the nearest ‘noise sensitive residential window’ and advise on the scale and type of mitigation that may be required.
Noise calculations were conducted with the jet washes and vacuums running at the same time to create a ‘worst case scenario’ for noise disturbance.
The assessment concludes: “It has been concluded that noise emissions from the proposed plant would not have an adverse impact on the nearest residential receivers.”
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You can view the assessment typing reference 221603 into the council’s planning portal.
It will now be considered for its acceptability by the council’s planning department.
Furthermore, permission of the car wash has been limited to 18 months, after which Car Wash Five Star will have to submit another application to confirm the site’s operation, and prevent it being shut down like Diamond Wash was.
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