Go unmanned

Plans have been approved for a new unmanned Go 24-hour petrol station and drive-thru Go Coffee shop on Strand Road in Derry.

Despite an initial recommendation that permission be refused because of a flood risk, the Derry City and Strabane District Council Planning Committee waved the application through.

Go owner the LCC Group proposed a mixed use development comprising a 24-hour unattended petrol filling station with five pumps under a canopy, an air and water service area, underground storage tanks (four x 60,000 litre), ancillary ATM/control building, a two-storey drive-thru restaurant, parking and bin stores.

The site on Strand Road is currently being used as a car wash. It is within an area zoned for redevelopment in Derry, where much of it has already been developed in the form of a Sainsburys, a retail park and apartments. The Planning Committee was told that because of this, the proposed site was compatible with the established retail uses.

According to the News Letter, residents who live nearby opposed the site because they feared it would become a meeting point for boy racers. However, representative for the LCC Group assured the Council that the station would be under 24-hour security surveillance and would not have the car parking space for a large gathering of drivers at night.