Plans have been passed for a new petrol forecourt on a greenfield site in Wetherby.
Woodman Forecourts – which has two other sites including the award-winning Woodman Service Station in Leeds – has been given the go-ahead to develop the land off the A168 Privas Way in Wetherby, despite objections from locals and opposition from Wetherby Council.
The plans – for a petrol filling station with ancillary shop and food outlet, car wash, EV charge points, air and water lines, ATM, underground fuel tanks and parking – were initially rejected back in 2019 due to biodiversity issues.
According to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Woodman re-submitted its plans addressing the biodiversity issue by agreeing to cultivate some agricultural land a mile away from the forecourt site. This would ensure a net gain in biodiversity was delivered.
Neighbours’ objections included the fact that the site would bring “significant light and noise pollution” and that there were already three forecourts in the town.
On behalf of Woodman Forecourts, Nazia Shah from the Urban Future Planning Consultancy told councillors that there was no reason why the scheme should not be accepted given that the biodiversity issue had been addressed.
The Yorkshire Evening Post reported that council planning officer David Newberry said they had little choice but to approve the plans. He said it was a matter of public record that they didn’t like the development but they had no choice but to vote it through.
Ziheed Mohammed from Woodman Forecourts said: “It’s been a tough ride getting the planning permission and we have learned a lot along the way. We will start developing the new site shortly.”
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