Relief in Beverley as petrol station development including two 24-hour drive-thru fast food outlets is refused

An East Riding councillor has welcomed the refusal of a development including two 24-hour fast food outlets in Beverley.
Beverley town centreBeverley town centre
Beverley town centre

Liberal Democrat Coun Linda Johnson, of Beverley’s St Mary's ward on East Riding Council, said she and others feared the development off Swinemoore Lane roundabout would have fuelled congestion.

She added the plans, which also proposed a petrol station, business units and 171 parking spaces, could have inconvenienced visitors to Beverley Community Hospital and damaged a nearby green space.

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Developers EG Group stated in their application the “essential” site could have created 164 new jobs, with the site chosen after assessments failed to find anywhere else more suitable.

It is thought the development at the junction of Swinemoore Lane and the A1035 would have been the largest in Beverley since the Morton Lane Tesco in 2002.

Council planning officer Stephen Hunt stated in the authority’s decision it was not deemed essential as Beverley is already served by “several” roadside facilities on key routes into the town.

The officer added proposed landscaping would not make up for the loss of parts of Swinemoore Pasture and generate a “substantial level” of extra traffic on a major road.

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Coun Johnson said she and other locals had breathed a “sigh of relief” after hearing of the refusal.

She added the building of another petrol station would have been “crazy” in light of a UN report released today warning the climate change situation is “code red for humanity”.

The ward member said: “We don’t think there’s any need for two 24 hour fast food restaurants at all. We already have a pinch point at Tickton Bridge which becomes congested at rush hour.

“I live one street away from Grange Way and the traffic can get quite bad. We were also concerned about possible flooding at the site if the infrastructure wasn’t built properly.

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“And it would have been built on the edge of Swinemoore Pasture which acts as a carbon sink.

“The development would have been inappropriate as well given the UN’s worrying report about climate change, should we be encouraging more fossil fuel use when we’re facing a very real climate emergency?

“That seems crazy, and we’ve already got six fossil fuel petrol stations either already here or in development.

“We’ve also got a very similar facility off the Southern Relief Road which is in a more suitable location with plenty of space.

“It also has electric vehicle charging points which this proposed development wouldn’t have had.”

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