The Rivervale contract hire and leasing company should find out next week whether plans to build new premises next to its showroom can go ahead.
The company told planners that it had outgrown its existing centre on the Victoria Road Industrial Estate.
If planning permission is granted, the expansion will create 15 jobs. The company will vacate one of its units on the industrial estate which is in the same road as the Rivervale car showroom and a number of rival dealerships.
The planned new premises are also on the industrial estate and next door to Portslade Town Hall where Brighton and Hove City Council Planning Committee will decide the application.
The building would be up to three storeys high and include offices and a workshop with four bays so that cars could be serviced and valeted.
A report to the Planning Committee said: “The previous building on the site was destroyed by a fire in 2000. Since then the site has been vacant.
“The majority of the site is covered in hard standing although there is some vegetation on the embankment on the northern and western boundaries. The majority of the application site is set some two to three metres below the Victoria Road pavement level.”
The report also said: “There are a number of car showrooms and vehicle repair garages in this part of Portslade. Other uses on the industrial estate include Boulder Brighton (climbing wall) and trade plumbing and hire businesses.”
Rivervale has been operating from the estate since 2004, the report said, with the contract hire and leasing element operating since 2009.
It said: “Car leasing has become more popular in recent years. However, there is no room within the existing buildings for this part of the business to expand.
“Therefore, the applicant plans to use the proposed building exclusively for the car leasing part of the business, with the car sales element continuing to operate within the existing car showroom building.”
The council has received no objections to the plans although one neighbour expressed concerns about parking.
The report to the Planning Committee recommends granting approval to the scheme.
