Former Petrol Station Sites for Lease?

AWOL_2

You see all these former petrol station sites taken over by these hand car washes... I was wondering how one would go about trying to officially lease a former petrol site from the owners.
I have tried to contact various petrol companies but have not had any replies.
Surely these hand car washes arent paying massive rents? I was hoping to lease a site to run a car rental business from as usually these site have good locations.

Any help advise would be greatly appreaciated in helping to locate a suitable location.

Thanks

vivatifosi

Hi AWOL,

My local council has prosecuted a hand car wash for operating out of the same site as a petrol station. I think they must have different business use classes.

I would speak to the local commercial letting agents in your area. They will give you a good idea as to what is available and at what price. I would imagine that you would be looking for a site with good passing traffic. Lambert Smith Hampton are a large non-London commercial agent with offices in Nottingham. May be a good place to start...

braithers_2

That's an interesting case with the council, do you have a link to the story?

Leases to the petrol stations are normally found through your estate agents.

Poppycat

WE had one in our home town right next to a busy road. You could only get 2 cars in at most on the site so queues developed on main road and cause congestion. It was eventually closed down but most probably because the area is being redeveloped for yes you guessed it flats

vivatifosi

braithers wrote: »

That's an interesting case with the council, do you have a link to the story?

Hi braithers,

I'm frustrated that having read it in the local newspaper, I can't now find a link on their website. It was however detailed on the local authority's planning website. The council issued an enforcement order and the owner appealed and lost, though I think they may still be operating (not sure).

Here's a link to the LA planning site:

http://www.dacorum.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Page=1497&ID=4/02455/06/ENA

braithers_2

Thanks for the link. Bit of a strange one isn't it, be interesting to see if other councils follow this trend...

vivatifosi

With my property head on (I used to work in commercial property research but for offices), I've found out that petrol stations are in a use class termed "sui generis", ie of its own. In that respect, it would appear that you need to apply for a change of use in order to change any petrol station site into something else. For that matter, car washes appear to be a "sui generis" class, as do car dealerships (I would assume car rental also though cannot be certain on this).

I came across several places in which the local government are enforcing this, not just local to me.

So in that respect, the OP would not only have to find a site, they'd have to get permission from the local council for a change of use if the site is not already being used for that purpose. So please OP, don't just speak to the agents, speak to the local planning department on their views on change of use and whether there are any areas in which you won't get it. This may help avoid expensive mistakes.

Talisker_2

AWOL wrote: »

You see all these former petrol station sites taken over by these hand car washes... I was wondering how one would go about trying to officially lease a former petrol site from the owners.
I have tried to contact various petrol companies but have not had any replies.
Surely these hand car washes arent paying massive rents? I was hoping to lease a site to run a car rental business from as usually these site have good locations.

Any help advise would be greatly appreaciated in helping to locate a suitable location.

Thanks

If you're still looking and need help, send me a wee message. I can probably help you out with that.

Adelz

Talisker I would like some more info!How can I get hold of some further imformation please?