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Illegal and ‘inappropriate’ car dealership lodges official bid to stay open

Illegal and ‘inappropriate’ car dealership lodges official bid to stay open

Robert Parker-JonesNews2 weeks ago41 Views

An illegal and ‘inappropriate’ car dealership which has been operating without permission for the past three years could be allowed to stay open after all.

West Midlands Cars began trading from a site in the town of Wednesbury way back in 2022, despite never being given the green light to do so.

Since opening, the operation has been the subject of multiple complaints from the public, with residents complaining that too many cars are being storied at the site.

In 2023, the local authority – Sandwell Council – rejected a planning application to officially run the business from the location, with planners describing the proposals as ‘“inappropriate’ and ‘to the detriment of residents’.

Despite this, the firm has continued to operate illegally, with cars even spilling into the carpark of a nearby pub, which has been unused for several years.

Now, West Midlands Cars owner, Gul Nawaz, has lodged an appeal against the 2023 decision, which could offer a lifeline to the illicit business.

The Express & Star reports that prior to the current operation beginning in 2022, the plot had previously been used by the motor trade back in 2017.

When that business fell victim to enforcement action by the council, locals thought that was the end of it, only for West Midlands Cars five years later.

In a report outlining its most recent decision to deny retrospective permission to the business, Sandwell Council said: ‘The car sales use and associated comings and goings is inappropriate in the locality and has a detrimental impact on the amenity of an otherwise predominantly residential area.

‘The retention of the car sales use would impact on the highway network due to visitors to the site and manoeuvring of vehicles.’

Planners added that the dealership failed to ‘function well and add to the overall quality of the area’.

Meanwhile, during a site visit around 18 months ago, the council found that too many cars were being stored on the site, with vehicles spilling over into the neighbouring street and pub car park.

The council ruled that its findings were ‘not representative of the layout plans submitted with the application’.

It said: ‘There were far more vehicles stored on site. A small car transporter – for one vehicle – was parked on street in front of the site. It appeared that the site was not sufficient in size for the scale of the operation that was taking place there.

‘The applicants stated that the vehicles parked on the pub car park were not theirs but were somehow able to confirm that they would be moved. Highways completed another site visit in November 2023, the situation had improved, presumably as the application was still to be determined.

‘Since then, the business has begun operating as per the previous levels this has been noted when passing the site while completing other site visits around the borough.’

West Midlands Cars’ appeal will be heard in due course, although it is not yet clear when a verdict will be reached.