New housing plans for the site of a demolished petrol station in Sandyford have finally got the go-ahead.
Four apartments and a shop are now set to be built on the former Sandyford Service Station, having won the approval of Newcastle City Council. The old Esso station was torn down in 2015 and has since been subject to bigger development plans for 12 apartments and then for 14 en-suite student bedrooms, both of which were dropped after being deemed too big.
Euro Garages lodged new plans for the “untidy and unattractive” Sandyford Road site late last year and have now been granted planning permission from the local authority for a three-storey building, with a shop on the ground floor, two one-bedroom apartments, and two two-bed flats. City planners backed the scheme despite objections from some neighbours, who claimed the development will be an “immense danger” and lead to parking problems on an already busy route in and out of the city centre.
A council report said: “The application site is presently vacant, save for the former petrol station kiosk and as such, its redevelopment is welcomed as an opportunity to provide visual amenity to the conservation area. It is situated between a Victorian Terraced property, which includes dormer roof accommodation and a basement to the east and a single storey former garage premises, now used as a restaurant to the west.
“The proposal is a three storey building, with a largely flat roof, albeit including a central pitched section. This is considered a successful design approach in that it allows for a stepping down in height from the adjacent Victorian terrace, whilst remaining higher that the adjacent restaurant.
“This successfully reflects the arrangement further west along Sandyford Road, where the Cog and Wheel is higher than the garage, before stepping up again to the book end Victorian terraced property on Osborne Terrace. Thus, in terms of scale and massing, the proposal is considered to successfully respond to its context and appears appropriate within this part of the South Jesmond Conservation Area.”
Four locals had objected to the scheme, with one saying it posed an “ immense danger” to pedestrians, cyclists and drivers because of a lack of car parking for future residents or shop patrons. Another objector added: “The development is looking to attract customers driving in and out of the city centre, meaning any customer in a car will have no choice but to park in front of the store on double yellow lines while also blocking the cycle lane. This will then put pedestrians, cyclists and other road users at risk on an already busy junction.”
South Jesmond councillor Charlie Gray had also opposed the project, echoing the parking concerns and claiming that the new building would "stick out like a sore thumb".
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