By Local Democracy Reporter Peter Davison
An online used car specialist will open an outlet in the Asda car park in Melksham after Wiltshire Council gave them the green light.
We Buy Any Car will open a purchasing office and sales area after Wiltshire Council approved plans to convert part of a supermarket car park into a car-buying operation.
Eight existing parking spaces will be repurposed to accommodate the new business.
Two spaces will be lost to make way for a standalone office building, while six others will be used for staff parking and vehicles awaiting sale or purchase.
Planning officers concluded that the scheme would have only a minimal impact on the operation of the supermarket and would not create any significant highway or amenity concerns.
The proposal includes the erection of a compact modular office building measuring approximately 4.8 metres by 3.2 metres, with a flat roof standing around 2.7 metres high.
The building will serve as a base for vehicle purchasing activities, with customers able to bring cars for valuation and sale.
No vehicle repairs, servicing or maintenance work will take place at the site.
Instead the facility will allow the online buyer to inspect a vehicle which has already been through its estimates portal before offering a final price to the seller.
The firm already has outlets at Morrisons and the railway station in Chippenham, at Trowbridge Rugby Club, and at Orbital Shopping Centre in Swindon.
Officers noted that the operation differs from a traditional car dealership or garage and would generate only a negligible number of additional vehicle movements.
They concluded that the overall reduction in parking provision was small in the context of the supermarket’s existing car park and would not adversely affect its operation.
Melksham Town Council raised no objection to the proposal, while no comments were submitted by members of the public during the consultation period.
In recommending approval, planning officers said the development would provide an employment-generating use within a location already surrounded by commercial activity.
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