Planning permission has been granted for a new petrol filling station in Killycomain Road, Portadown.
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council gave permission despite numerous objections from neighbours plus the fact that its own officers said the development would be contrary to the local development plan on the grounds that a retail development is proposed on land zoned for housing.
However, the officers waved the application through because they said the petrol filling station scheme was better than what had been previously planned for the site.
The council’s report said: “The current application represents an opportunity for delivering a level of betterment at the site over the fall-back position especially in relation to quantum of retail floorspace, design and impact on amenity.”
During the planning application process there were 43 letters of support from residents and 57 objections.
The permission is for the erection of a petrol filling station, convenience store, hot food prep area and deli counter, bulk fuels store, petrol pumps, canopy, right turning lane, pedestrian crossing, footpath widening and associated site works.
The Council put 39 conditions in place, that the applicant John Curran will have to abide by.
These include the site’s opening hours being restricted to 7am to 11pm, Monday to Saturday. And external lighting is only allowed on during these hours to protect local residents from ‘artificial lighting overspill’. Meanwhile, HGV service times ie fuel deliveries are only allowed outside peak times of 8.15am to 9.15am and 5pm to 6pm.
The size of the sales space in the convenience store is limited to 338.5sq m to ‘control the nature range and scale of commercial activity’ at the site. And no internal changes, such as the introduction of a mezzanine floor to increase sales space, are allowed.
A lap boarded acoustic fence has to be erected around parts of the site before any building can start. And the site cannot start trading before the puffin pedestrian crossing is in place.
