'Very special circumstances': Truck stop owner installs HGV filling station on green belt near Wolverhampton without consent
The owner of an HGV fuelling station along a main route into Wolverhampton has extended the site without planning permission.
The M6 Diesel filling station in Cannock Road, Shareshill, built a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) filling station to supply heavy lorries without planning consent.
South Staffordshire council refused planning permission for the scheme in June this year, on the basis that it would have a detrimental impact on the green belt.
But Vigo Bioenergy UK is now seeking retrospective planning permission for the development.
It claims the 1.75-acre site, along the A60, should be considered to be 'grey belt' land under new government planning guidelines, and says there are 'very special circumstances' which should allow it to remain.
Maureen Darrie, on behalf of the applicant, said the station had been in operation for some time, without any adverse impact on either the environment or the road network.
Miss Darrie said the proposed filling station would reduce and mitigate air quality concerns in the area by providing environmentally friendly fuel for HGVs.
"It is considered that the proposed LNG station is ancillary to the existing uses of the site and due to its scale and the nature of the surrounding area, the facility will create no new environmental effects either locally or in the wider area," she said.
"The proposals will result in a negligible change in vehicle movements on the surrounding highway network, and will not result in an unacceptable impact on highway safety.
"The proposal has been considered in the context of national and local policies for climate change and planning policy. The development will assist in meeting targets for greenhouse gas reduction from road transport, improving air quality standards."
However, the proposals were rejected by planning officer Matthew Thomas when they were last put forward for consideration in June this year.
"The development would result in a significant adverse impact on the openness and character of the West Midlands green belt, contrary to the fundamental aims of green-belt policy to prevent urban sprawl and to safeguard the countryside from encroachment," he said.
"The site is located within a flat landscape within minimal built form, and the introduction of such a large and visually intrusive structure would cause unacceptable harm to the openness and visual amenity of the green belt landscape."
The proposals will now be considered once more by South Staffordshire planners.
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