SHOPPERS at a Verwood supermarket will soon be able to get their cars washed as they browse the aisles, if a planning application is approved.

Morrisons, in Chiltern Drive, is seeking permission for the installation of a ‘car park valet pod’ on the site.

Whittam Cox Architects, who have submitted the scheme on behalf of the supermarket giant, said the plan was ‘complimentary to the existing use of the site’ and ‘promotes economic activity within a key retail location’.

Access to the proposed pod would be via the existing Morrisons car park, the plan outlines.

‘Careful consideration has been placed in the positioning of the pods to ensure that there is no disruption to vehicular and pedestrian circulation,” it said, with the site operating as it does now, though nine parking spaces would be lost.

“Car Park Valet offers a ‘wash while you shop’ service, locating a convenient hand car wash and valeting operation within the car park of the existing Morrisons store,” the application said.

“Aiming to provide a sustainable service coinciding with existing local travel and parking patterns.

“The prefabricated modular single storey pod is constructed using high-quality, environmentally-efficient, factory-controlled construction techniques.”

In the application, Morrisons said ‘Car Park Valet offer a service which is highly valued by Morrisons customers and firmly aligns with their plan to bring more and more popular and useful services to the communities that they serve’.

“There is no disruption to their normal operation,” the document went on.

For more information on the scheme, log on to www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk and search for application reference P/ADV/2023/03629.