Plans to significantly expand Gillingham Services, an A-road site featuring various fast food outlets and a Shell filling station, are set to be approved by planners despite local opposition.
Developers are seeking to double the size of the services, building a Marks and Spencer store, a farm shop and a Greggs drive-through, as well as various trade outlets.
Also set to feature is an EV charging hub for 20 vehicles, complete with a 12-metre wide by 2.9m-high battery energy storage system (BESS), which will harness electricity generated when demand is low, later using this stored energy to charge electric cars.
South Norfolk Council has recommended its assistant director of planning approve the expansion, highlighting that the proposals would create 115 new full-time jobs, and that they would bring “overriding benefits in the economic, social and environmental dimensions”.
While the expansion received 29 supporting comments, 72 people objected to the plans, citing issues relating to noise and light pollution, anti-social behaviour, waste-water capacity, loss of character to the nearby village of Gillingham, litter, concerns over how the EV chargers would be powered, and worries over the safety of the BESS facility being close to a filling station.
A decision on the development is expected to be reached in the coming days.
