Members of the Car Wash Campaign Group (CWCG) are urging retailers to learn more about how to stamp out unregulated car washes by attending an open meeting being held at this month’s International Forecourt & Fuel Equipment (IFFE) show. The event has been organised to raise awareness of

the group’s campaign, which is steadily winning political backing.

Liberal Democrat MP for Colchester Bob Russell has tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) on the group’s behalf regarding the issue of unregulated car wash sites, which at the time of going to press had gained 27 signatures from fellow MPs.

Meanwhile, he is also arranging for an Adjournment Debate to be held on the issue at Westminster Hall.

Audience members at IFFE will be invited to discuss the main issues surrounding the campaign with the panel of four CWCG representatives who will host the event, due to take place at 11am on the Monday morning (April 7) in the Information for Independent Retailers area of the show at the NEC in Birmingham.

CWCG chairman David Charman said: "I can’t stress enough how important it is for everyone to get behind this campaign. We need as many signatures as possible on the EDM to drive this forward.

"We can’t do this by ourselves - please come along and support us and find out how to get your MP on board."

The aim of all this parliamentary activity is to highlight the CWCG’s main concerns in the run up to DEFRA’s second consultation on non-agriculture diffuse water pollution (which involves run-off from car washes). The group wants to see the introduction of binding rules to make it easier for the Environment Agency to prosecute rogue operations - usually hand car washes.

For more information on the issue, see our News Extra feature on page 13, or visit the CWCG section of our website at [http://www.forecourttrader.co.uk]. And don’t forget our show preview on page 45, which has valuable tips on all the exhibitors and industry events at IFFE.