Plans to turn a garage into a car wash have gone down the drain.

Mole Valley planners rejected a planning application to turn the former Volkspeed garage in Barnett Wood Lane, Ashtead, into a car handwash, which would have been open seven days a week.

The plans were submitted by a Mr S Tanushi from London, who jumped the gun by having the garage signwritten with the words Hand Car Wash before his scheme was considered by the council.

The application provoked fury among residents, who deluged the council with letters of objection. Among the objectors was the headteacher of the nearby Barnett Wood Infants School, a senior police officer and MP Chris Grayling.

Mr Grayling, whose constituency party headquarters are close to the garage, wrote that he had been asked by several constituents to object to the plan.

The proposal attracted more than 100 letters of complaint to the council. They claimed that the car wash would create danger by forcing cars to queue in a busy and narrow road, and would change the character of the district. The area was subject to regular flooding and the car wash could make the problem worse. One objector complained that it could reduce the value of his property.

Planners turned down the application on several grounds. One of them was that it would be an “undesirable introduction of a visually intrusive industrial activity to this prominent corner position.”

It would also lead to an increase in vehicle movement and would be prejudicial to safety and free movement of traffic.