American wholesaler Costco is hoping to add a petrol station to its Westhill site at Arnhall Business Park in Aberdeen.
There are very few details about the plans at present, with the Aberdeenshire Council website planning portal just stating ‘Erection of petrol filling station, installation of 12 EV charging bays, landscaping and associated works’.
Meanwhile, formal plans have been submitted to Broadland District Council from Costco, for a warehouse club and petrol filling station (PFS) at Broadland Business Park in Norwich.
Its formal application follows a consultation process with interested parties. Changes following the pre-application process include the PFS layout being ‘flipped’ to simplify the entry and exit routes.
The PFS will be accessible via a new entrance from the private road east off Old Chapel Way and a new exit onto Old Chapel Way, ensuring easy access to and from the site. The PFS shares its private access road with the Costa Coffee drive-thru and the Fieldfare Pub.
Other changes made included Costco purchasing additional land to enhance the landscaping along the boundary to screen the development. A new cycle path and footway on the northern boundary was included to replace an informal route between Yarmouth Road and the offices to the north of the warehouse site.
The proposal site comprises two separate plots of vacant land on the southern edge of Broadland Business Park. The warehouse club would occupy the larger eastern plot, while the associated PFS would be located on the smaller plot to the west.
The forecourt would open from 6am to 9.30pm on Mondays to Fridays, 6am to 8pm on Saturdays, 7am to 6pm on Sundays and from 6am to 6pm on Bank Holidays.
The application states: “A PFS has become an established component of Costco developments and is an essential requirement of Costco’s member offering.
“The application seeks to develop a 12-pump PFS. The PFS specification, number of pumps and underground storage capabilities are consistent with those of other PFS facilities at Costco warehouses across the country.”
The PFS will be for the use of Costco members only. It will be fully automated operating a pay-at-pump style system, with fuel purchases only available via debit/credit card transactions. Members will need to scan their membership cards to activate the fuel pumps. The PFS will not offer any products and there will be no kiosk or shop.
At least one member of staff will be on site during opening hours to supervise the operation of the PFS. A small control room (circa 25sq m) is proposed next to the pumps, which will contain the electronic control equipment, the monitoring station and welfare facilities.
Costco says this method of forecourt operation is significantly more efficient than pay-at-kiosk stations, with greatly reduced standing time on the forecourt. Consequently, it accommodates higher throughput with minimal queuing. Passing lanes will allow members to move to the front pumps, ensuring continuous access to all positions.
