A formal complaint has been made to North Yorkshire Council over the handling of a planning application for a new Brookfield Group forecourt off the A65/A59 roundabout in Skipton.
In 2022 Craven District Council refused the application but it was overturned on appeal by a government planning inspector in August 2023.
According to the Rombalds Radio website, Karen Darvell, chair of Stirton with Thorlby Parish Council, campaigned against the petrol station being built and has now submitted a complaint to North Yorkshire Council over the matter.
According to Darvell’s research, the planning officer who originally recommended councillors approve the plans in 2022 was formerly employed as a senior planner by a petrol station operator. However, her employment was unrelated to the Skipton application.
Darvell said the officer had also founded a planning consultancy that specialises in winning planning permission for forecourts.
Rombalds Radio reported that while there is no suggestion that the officer had any prior relationship with the Brookfield Group regarding the plans, Darvell believes their professional background was not declared as a potential conflict of interest.
Her complaint also referred to officers changing the wording in the reasons for refusal given by councillors at the October 2022 planning committee.
Darvell previously made a complaint to Craven District Council about its handling of the application. In December 2022, the council upheld her complaint and found that there were “serious deficiencies” in the original report. It ordered planning officers to undertake training.
North Yorkshire Council’s assistant director for planning, Trevor Watson, said he is confident that the planning process was followed fully when the original decision was taken by Craven district councillors last year.
