A planning application submitted to Somerset Council has revealed a valeting firm is seeking to expand its operations by setting up a hand car wash in the overflow car park of a large garden centre close to the M5.
All Bright Cleaner is set to become a tenant at Sanders Garden Centre on the outskirts of Burnham-on-Sea. The centre covers 7.4 acres, offers parking for 400 cars and sits on the A38 trunk road just a mile from Junction 22 of the M5.
As with forecourts, garden centres are hotbeds of diversification, their large footprints lending themselves well to various retail and commercial offerings. Sanders already offers shoppers a pet store, restaurant, shoe shop and aquarium, while the car park plays host to a 10-bay EV charging hub.
With so much parking available, the site’s overflow car park is “underused”, the developers say, and has been identified it as suitable location for the valeting firm to expand into.
All Bright plans to erect polycarbonate screens to reduce noise and spray for the valeting centre, while also installing a large parasol for cover.
Low-level lighting and a decked waiting area will also feature, should the plans be approved, while the business would create between four and eight new jobs, with minimal disruption to the surrounding area due to its rural nature.
