A new filling station – complete with shop and service facilities – could be built in Portadown.
Plans for the proposed development – on a “development site” currently in the form of “overgrown grassland” at the corner of Carn Road and the Charlestown Road – have been submitted to Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council for consideration.
It would consist of a 10-bay petrol filling station – beneath a high canopy – and retail and service facilities.
The retail shop would stretch to over 270 sq metres.
The development will also include a hot food bar and cafe, sitting area and toilet provision.
There will also be staff facilities on site too.
A total of 22 parking spaces – for HGVs and cars – and associated siteworks form part of the overall proposals.
According to a planning statement submitted with the proposals there is a real need for such a development in the area.
It states: “The proposed petrol filling station has the potential to create local jobs that might not otherwise be generated.
“The petrol filling station, its associated shop, hot food bar and seating area will also benefit commuters and existing employees of surrounding businesses by providing an alternative in terms of refuelling, the purchase of convenience goods, access to hot food without the need to head east-bound on the M1 or journey into the town centres of Craigavon, Portadown and Lurgan.”
The main customer target is workers in the area.
The planning statement says it will “provide choice for day-to-day convenience shopping for the 12,599 working population within the Carn Industrial area”.
And it is intended to open daily until midnight to “accommodate many of the shift workers employed in the industrial estate”.
The application site is zoned for industrial use under Craigavon Area Plan but the planning statement argues that the the loss of 0.39% of “employment lands to this sui generis use will not result in a significant diminution of the employment land resource in the locality or across the plan area generally”.
It adds: “The benefits of the proposal clearly outweigh the loss of this insignificant amount of zoned land to other uses.”
The application will now be publicly advertised next week with a decision expected in the coming months.
