Historic garage in Ashby Parva to reopen as hub for classic cars and café
Business owners have responded to concerns about their plans to host classic car meets at a disused garage in Ashby Parva, saying the events would be ticketed and crowd flow would be controlled.
Applicants Anna and Andrew Stretton submitted an application to Harborough District Council under their concept to open “Torque Rooms” – a mixed-use business including a car showroom, garage, and café, in a former disused garage that had operated from 1955 until a few years ago.
The plans were called to Harborough District Council planning committee by Ullesthorpe Ward councillor Rosita Page for three reasons, including “incompatible use, traffic and parking and opening hours”.
Mr Stretton responded to concerns from an objector who spoke at the meeting, citing the potential increase in traffic resulting from the business.
He said: “It won’t be, as mentioned, van meets with regards to numbers, it’ll be ticketed. We can’t have anything additional above and beyond the amount of people that are in the spaces within the car park.
“It’s [for] classic car meets. There may be occasions where we invite classic air-cooled Porsche owners or Saab owners there.”
The owners hope to open a shop area selling vehicle parts and accessories, as well as a small selection of classic cars. The proposed hours of operation are listed on the planning documents as Monday to Saturday 8am to 5.30pm and 8am to 4.30pm on Sunday.
The café will be operated by the garage owners, and a total of 15 full- and part-time staff are expected to be employed across the business. Car meets ‘occasionally at weekends’ are included in the plans.
Mr Stretton said: “The café is to complement the garage. It is not there to replace the garage. It is a functioning garage.
“As much as we don’t do MOT work or service work, we do much more specialist work on high-end vehicles, so classic restorations of old vehicles and those kind of things.
“Within the café area, the reason why the building’s called the Torque Rooms is because I have a real passion for supporting mental health, and I want to create a place where people come to talk, and it’s a play on the word talk.
“And my hope is within that building there’ll be classic cars that people can come and stand and talk about information on them and hopefully share some of their thoughts.”
He added: “I’ve driven past this garage from being from a little boy and watched it be a thriving garage.
“I even remember it appearing on an episode of Top Gear when it was a Saab dealership and Quentin Willson walking around the garage and explaining the difference between Saabs and the pricing structure in comparison to other vehicles.
“Having seen the building closed for many years, driving past it on my way home, I just recognised it slipping into a state of disrepair. It got worse and worse, and it was an eyesore in the village, really.
Cllr Martin Sarfas (Restore) said he was recusing himself and stepping away from the voting. The rest of the meeting voted nine in favour of approving the application, with none against.