Revised plans for a petrol station and drive-thru restaurant have met with approval from Newcastle City Council after proposals to develop the site – described as a “single featureless agricultural field” – were rejected by the authority in 2023.
Dewsbury-based Top 50 Indie The Brookfield Group, which operates eight forecourts and leases out a further 13, had originally envisaged that the field by Rotary Way in Gosforth, to the north of Newcastle, would host EV charging, valeting operations, two drive-thru restaurants and a filling station.
The council rejected this proposal two years ago on the basis it would comprise an “overdevelopment of the site with an overdominance of hard landscaping”. The authority also found that Brookfield had not done enough to show the project would reduce CO2 emissions, and that it was “car-centric”. A number of local residents objected to the plans for a variety of reasons, including that they would bring increased noise and traffic.
The firm went back to the drawing board and slimmed down its plans, removing one drive-thru from the proposals, while reducing the number of parking spaces and increasing the number of EV chargepoints from seven to 15 (these will be phased in, with seven operating initially). The approved plans also contain significantly more green landscaping, a smaller and repositioned forecourt shop, plus solar panels and upgraded fencing.
While some residents objected to these plans, too, Newcastle City Council ultimately ruled in Brookfield’s favour, finding that the revised proposals are “functional and contemporary, using materials like timber cladding and grey aluminium glazing, to integrate with the mixed character presented by its surroundings”.
The authority also said the second plan features “a generous separation to houses”, a “good acoustic design”, and that a combination of solar panels, heat pumps and energy-efficient design means it “supports the transition to low-carbon transport”.
