A former filling station in Plymouth, Devon, is set to be demolished and rebuilt as a car-rental outlet following a planning application by Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
The site ceased trading as a petrol station in the early 2000s and was subsequently used as a car-hire outlet and a hand car wash centre – though both these operations were only granted temporary permission by the local authority.
Enterprise’s application to turn the site into a car-hire outlet follows two previous unsuccessful bids.
The first was refused partly because the firm’s plans did not incorporate “low carbon or renewable energy generation” and lacked EV charging. Plymouth City Council also said the proposal would “lack visual interest” at what it deems to be a “strategically important gateway location”.
The second refusal, issued against refined proposals, said the plans “would perpetuate an inefficient, car-dominated form of development” at a “sustainably located brownfield site”, adding that the firm’s plans feature “utilitarian materials” and lack “local distinctiveness and visual interest”.
Now, following discussions with the council, Enterprise Rent-a-Car has submitted a third application featuring “significant improvements” to the project’s design, which includes EV four charging bays, pedestrian and cycle access to the site, and a main building with increased frontage to shield parked cars from view.
