Planning applications for petrol stations are often marked by tension but, after years of wrangling between authorities and developers, The Brookfield Group has confirmed the opening date for a new-to-sector site with a complex gestation.
Gargrave Services will sit by a roundabout that joins the A59 and A65 on the outskirts of the market town of Skipton, North Yorkshire, about 30 miles to the north-west of Leeds. The site will begin trading between late 2025 and early 2026, featuring four-pump islands, a large kiosk shop with a ‘living’ green roof, solar panels on the forecourt canopy, EV charging, plus jet and car-wash facilities.
But while the site’s design and amenities are as modern as forecourts come, of more note is the protracted planning process the developers went through.
Back in 2021 The Brookfield Group, which operates eight sites and leases out a further 13, applied for planning permission to develop the land, which sits opposite a Burger King, Travelodge and farm shop.
In 2022 permission was refused by Craven District Council, with the authority ruling that the erection of a forecourt on the site would fail to preserve “the open character of the local green space” and would have “a detrimental impact on existing highway safety”.
After lodging an appeal with the central Planning Inspectorate, however, The Brookfield Group was in August 2023 granted permission to construct the services. Amongst the Inspectorate’s findings was that the local authority’s judgement on highway safety had been incorrect, as there was “no evidence” that the forecourt “would have any impact on accident levels”.
That wasn’t quite the end to the saga, however, as in October 2023 the chair of a parish council in the area submitted a formal complaint to North Yorkshire Council about the handling of the original planning application. The councillor later argued that Craven council had been “half hearted” when it defended its original refusal to the Inspectorate, and they also criticised the Planning Inspectorate, saying it had “let the community down” by approving the development.
