Rutland County Council vote against plans for new petrol station and electric vehicle charging on the A47 and A6003 at Uppingham
Councillors have flouted recommendations of planning officers as they voted down a proposal for a new petrol and electric vehicle charging station.
Located on greenfield land on the A47 roundabout north of Uppingham, the application was made by Recharge Roadside Services, which is based in Tinwell Road, Stamford.
The proposal was for eight fuel pumps and six electric vehicle charging points as well as a coffee shop, convenience store and 40 parking spaces. The scheme also earmarks land for hydrogen car refuelling in the future.
It was proposed that access would be from an additional exit off the existing A47/A6003 roundabout, which sparked concerns from councillors.
Coun Marc Oxley (Ind - Uppingham) said: "I know the roundabout like the back of my hand and I'm very concerned in the implication an additional turn on the roundabout would have for road safety."
He added: "This, I believe, is an accident waiting to happen.
"Whilst I wholeheartedly support the idea of having such a service on the A47 and I believe it would be a great benefit to the local community to be able to charge their vehicles close to Uppingham, I have very real concerns about the road and access."
Coun Oxley said that his judgement is not being clouded as he is torn between voting for and against, but did not like the proposed location.
It was then questioned what the definition of 'essential' is, as mentioned in the planning report, by Coun Paul Browne (Lib Dem - Oakham South) and whether the proposal fits that.
Chairman of the committee, Coun Edward Baines (Con - Braunston and Martinsthorpe): "I don't agree that it will not be prominent. I think driving on the A47 and A6003 it will be prominent with the landscape. It says it will not impact adversely on Uppingham town centre but that's purely speculative, nobody knows.
"We've already pointed out we have charging points in Uppingham and there's plenty of provision for food.
"We then come to what seems to be a strong point of climate change. You put charging points in, I'm no energy expert but I know the only energy that occurs naturally is lighting and thunder storm."
It was also raised that land opposite the site has been allocated for employment whereas the land in the proposal is currently a greenfield site.
Going against officers' recommendations Coun Oxley put forward the plans for refusal, on the grounds of concerns about the rural location and the prominence of the building in the countryside, that in the neighbourhood plan the site opposite has been allocated for employment, and there not being an essential need for it.
The refusal was carried.
