A bid to demolish a car wash and sales building at the Shell Garage in High Street, Epping, has been blocked.

The application, which included plans to replace the existing structures with a new, larger sales building and more parking space, was rejected by Epping Forest District Council’s planning committee on Wednesday.

Members raised concerns that the submitted designs from Shell UK Retail lacked detail and said the wording on the application was unclear.

Councillors also raised the issue of a potential loss of trees surrounding the site and possible noise disruption for neighbours of the garage.