The Planning Inspectorate has ruled that EG On The Move (EGOTM) can build a new filling station in Merseyside, overturning a refusal notice issued by the local authority.
EGOTM submitted a planning application in November 2024 seeking permission to construct a new-to-sector forecourt in Maghull, a town seven miles north-east of Liverpool city centre. The firm was looking to knock down a derelict house on Liverpool Road North, erecting in its place and on surrounding land a three-pump-island petrol station complete with two jet-wash bays and four EV charging spots.
Sefton Council refused the EGOTM permission for the project, ruling the forecourt shop failed to offer “meaningful engagement with the public realm, resulting in a poor relationship with the surrounding townscape”, and the proposals as a whole did not “reflect the character or distinctiveness of the area”.
The Council also said EG On The Move had failed to share a road safety audit, so had not demonstrated the forecourt could be “safely integrated into the existing highway network”.
EGOTM lodged an appeal with the government’s Planning Inspectorate which overturned Sefton’s decision, ruling that “the design, materials and overall appearance” of the plans “would result in a modern, high-quality development that responds well to the surrounding built form and would represent a positive addition to the area”.
EGOTM also applied for a costs order against Sefton Council, arguing it should pay some of the forecourt firm’s legal fees as the authority made “generalised and vague statements” in its initial ruling, and that the refusal was partially based on the absence of a road safety audit, which EGOTM said was unnecessary for this type of project. But while EG On The Move’s planning appeal was successful, its costs order was not.
