A plan to demolish a car servicing station and replace it with a fuel storage facility between two villages in Berkshire has faced objections over flooding and road safety.
A plan to demolish a car servicing site and replace it with fuel storage between Charvil and Twyford has attracted local objections over flooding and road safety.
The site on the A3032 Old Bath Road, near the Waggon & Horses pub and the Loddon Reserve lakes, includes former Prince Brothers buildings that provided car servicing before closing. Speedy Fuels Ltd has applied to install fuel oil tanks holding between 83,000 and 130,000 litres, demolishing two Prince Brothers buildings and recladding another for staff. The application has been submitted to Wokingham Borough Council.
Neighbours say the road can’t cope with HGVs and fear fuel could seep into local waterways during floods.
“The road is not suitable for HGVs. “The area is surrounded by flood areas, imagine the damage to the Charvil Country Park lakes, River Loddon and River Thames if the fuel entered the ecosystem? “800,000 litres of fuel stored within 10 metres of the lakes? “What if that 800,000 litres of fuel caught fire? How quickly could Fire Services reach the site, via what is essentially a residential road network? “Yes, it’s on the A3032, but this is little more than a village residential road, it’s nowhere near the calibre of the A4, for example! “This simply isn’t a suitable site for fuel storage and distribution!”
Lee Cripps, who lives in Woodley, posted his objections on the Woodley Residents Discussion Group on Facebook and shared a photo he said showed an HGV leaving the site, claiming the former station was already being used to store fuel without permission. Streetview shows an HGV parked at nearby E-Quipfix Ltd, which services the tyre industry.
Charvil Parish Council reported fuel tanks were temporarily stored on the site but removed after Wokingham council officers visited.
Speedy Fuels first submitted a plan in April to regularise the site’s use, then withdrew the application in August to make corrections. A revised planning application was submitted last month.
An agent from S&L Planning Consultants says surface water would be removed using lined cellular storage discharging to the Old River, a tributary of the River Loddon, and that a transport assessment shows the scheme complies with the council’s travel policies.
The public consultation closes on Thursday 11 December. View the application on Wokingham Borough Council’s planning portal using reference 252782.
James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter
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