Wannabe 'home car wash' boss defends quirky plan to turn garden into vehicle cleaning facility

An Acklam Road resident has defended his plans to convert his garden into a car wash after a flood of objections from neighbours.

Hewa Saleh says the car cleaning operation, that would be operated in his front and back yard, would be a family business and would "impact the area very positively".

He confirmed that measurements had been taken and due to him having "massive land" on his property, there was definitely the space - so much so that he also wants to construct a coffee area on the plot.

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The entrepreneur, who formerly owned Godfathers pizza shop, in Darlington, has submitted the plans to Middlesbrough Council for consideration.

When pressed on his response to those against the idea, he said: “I say why? What’s the reason? People say the first problem is that it will make the area busy, we never make the area busy, I have a plan for everything.” On sewage concerns, he added: “We are making separate drains”.

If approved, the existing entrance to the garden would become the exit from the car wash and another entrance would be created a few metres along. Mr Saleh said: “To be honest, the road side safety is no problem, because if we look next door, [the social club] has two separate [entrances], they never have any problems.

“People say the church is next to us, the church is far from us.”

Directly next to Mr Saleh’s house is the St Francis Parish Hall and Social Club, and beyond that is a church. He did not think that noise from his property would be a concern, citing the fact it would be a “hand car wash” and he added that the road was already loud.

He explained that a small building would be removed where the car parking spaces were scheduled to be built and wanted to assure those who are worried that the new use of the land would be for the benefit of the community. He added: “I don’t want to put a queue on the road” and says a booking system would be in place.

On the opening days and timings, which plans state would be from 9am to 5pm, seven days a week, Mr Saleh floated the idea of closing on a Sunday to accommodate the nearby church, and said: “Respect is important for us”. It's also proposed that there would be six employees, four of which would be full time, and two of which would be part time.

He says he's lived in the house since 2018, but his roots in Middlesbrough go back even further, adding: “I’ve been here about 25 years, it’s special in this town.”

Regardless, Mr Saleh's ambitions are yet to garner support in the local community. Some people who stopped to talk to the BBC Local Democracy Reporting Service on Acklam Road did not know about the proposal and were taken aback by his plans.

Eric Nichols, of Acklam Road, did know about it, and had already responded to the online consultation. He said, at his front door: “I think it’s a totally inappropriate area to build it - traffic is going to grind to a halt”. He pointed out that it wasn’t an industrial area, but a residential one and thought there were more than enough car washes in town.

Another resident who lives on Acklam Road was initially supportive of the plan, until he was told how close he lived to proposed car wash, and his initial enthusiasm faded.

Maureen Smith, bar manager at the parish hall, branded the plans “shocking” and said it would be a “safety hazard” if they were given the go ahead, due to the frequent usage of the church and the parish hall. She added: “It’s absolutely ridiculous to even think about it - it’s just impossible for them to do what they think they can do. Impossible.”

Ellen McGee, a local parishioner, was also concerned about the proposed car wash and particularly the noise that would come from it if there were to be machines. She said “when you are having services in the church, you don’t want the car wash going, do you?”

Another local resident said: “I just can’t understand it in a million years, I can’t even understand it being put on the table.” Motioning towards the front garden, she said: “I might as well set up a stall here and why don’t we all just make a business!”

The closing date for members of the public to view the plan is December 9.

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