A planning application to redevelop a filling station in Suffolk has been refused over concerns relating to the A12 dual-carriageway the forecourt sits astride.
The owners of the Esso-livered site, CSS Retail, had been intending to knock down the site’s kiosk and replace it with a larger shop, while also installing EV charging facilities at the forecourt, located near the village of Capel St Mary.
But National Highways, which is responsible for the A12 and was consulted on the plans as part of the application process, advised Barbergh District Council to refuse the project as the developers had not demonstrated the changes would not adversely affect the safety of the main road.
Specifically, the highways authority said CSS had not completed a ‘GG104 Safety Risk Assessment’, which is required “to demonstrate that all risks to the safe and efficient operation of the Strategic Road Network (SRN) have been fully identified, evaluated, and appropriately mitigated”.
The agency also flagged that evidence was lacking to demonstrate the project would not pose a risk to fire-rescue, chemical and electrical safety as they pertain to the A12, and that more evidence relating to land-contamination risks was also required.
Barbergh District Council heeded National Highways’ advice, and the application was refused.
