Proposals to demolish a Sunderland petrol filling station to make way for an ‘Asda convenience store’ have been given the green light – despite concerns over highway safety and parking.
Sunderland City Council’s planning department recently validated plans for a site referred to as the “Grindon Broadway Service Station” in the Barnes ward.
The site includes a Shell petrol filling station and Spar convenience store and sits off The Broadway, or A183, one of the main roads into Sunderland.
Proposals from EG Group included the demolition and decommissioning of the petrol filling station and convenience store and to construct a replacement convenience store on the site.
Read more: Tyne and Wear firefighters tackle electrical blaze at Sunderland shopping centre
Developers said the plans would fulfil a local ‘top up’ function for customers with the proposed occupier being Asda and eight full-time equivalent jobs being proposed.
However the plans faced backlash from neighbours, with around 15 objections submitted to the council raising concerns ranging from increased traffic and highway safety to “poor access”.
During the planning application process, the plans were amended to address highway and pedestrian safety concerns raised by council planners.
As a result, the final scheme proposed delivery and refuse vehicles following a one-way route through the site before exiting via Springwell Road, as well as a “left turn out only exit system” for traffic exiting the site onto The Broadway and wider pedestrian improvements.
Arguments for and against the planning application were thrashed out at a meeting of Sunderland City Council’s planning and highways committee on Thursday, September 22.
Council planning officers, recommending the scheme for approval, said the plan would not have a “detrimental impact” on highway or pedestrian safety.
However several Barnes ward councillors disagreed, with councillor Helen Greener stating the plans would create further highway safety issues and congestion at an already “overcrowded” roundabout near the site.
Cllr Greener also raised concerns about the proposed one-way system for delivery vehicles exiting onto Springwell Road near a school, which she said, could potentially put children at risk.
Barnes councillor Antony Mullen, who also spoke in objection, said the planning officer’s report failed to fully assess wider highways and parking issues.
This included a proposed extension of a community parking management scheme in the area, as well as the “cumulative parking impact” linked to the proposed Asda, which would “extend the existing retail offer” in the area.
Cllr Mullen added that unlike “more transient” customers associated with a petrol filling station, the Asda store would see customers park for longer, leading to parking pressures on nearby residential streets.
A representative for the applicant EG Group, speaking at the planning hearing, said the petrol filling station site was “identified for disposal” and that the convenience store plan represented a £2.5 million investment into the site.
Those behind the scheme added the plans would “enhance” the appearance of the site and create jobs and that proposed highways arrangements had been deemed acceptable by local authority planners.
During discussion, the plans prompted mixed opinions from planning and highways committee members.
Councillor Ciaran Morrissey suggested that the redevelopment of the site was preferable to a future vacant site which could become a “magnet for anti-social behaviour”.
Elsewhere, councillor Colin Nicholson claimed the Asda store would create greater risk of traffic accidents at The Broadway roundabout and that he wouldn’t vote for it as he would “end up with blood on his hands”.
Councillor James Doyle, who later abstained from the vote, added he was concerned about potential highways impacts linked to the development and the site location.
After being put to the vote, the application was approved with six votes in favour, one against and one abstention.
Barnes councillor Antony Mullen, speaking after the meeting, said he was “deeply disappointed” with the decision and claimed those voting in support “knew very little about Barnes ward and the neighbouring St Anne’s ward”.
A statement on the Barnes Conservatives Facebook page added: “We will ensure that the council is held accountable for the consequences of its actions and properly deals with the parking and highways issues we have warned of”.
Read next:
- Dealers snared in undercover police sting following drug deaths of three students in Newcastle
- Fake Newcastle United kits seized as part of huge £20,000 haul after Newcastle Airport sting
- County Durham man fined for employing unlicensed security staff at string of bars in Consett
- Police helicopter helps snare one of North East's most wanted fugitives after chase
- Pervert with 'Jimmy Savile' email address had vile abuse images including torture and rape
