Decision on controversial A1 services delayed

A decision on the service station has been deferred due to a further objection

A decision on controversial plans for a new service station close to the A1 has been delayed.

Newcastle city councillors had been due to rule on whether new roadside services could be built on a field in Rotary Way in Gosforth.

More than 80 objections had been lodged against the development, which would include a filling station and a drive-through cafe, but planners had recommended it for approval.

However, the local authority's planning committee deferred its verdict to a later date following a new objection over the sewage system.

Councillors were told that the North Brunton Park Management Company, which manages the facilities on the north side of the road, had objected on grounds that the developer does not have an agreement to connect the sewage system running across their land.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, council officers said they were "uncomfortable" with a conflict between the landowner's claims and information provided by Northumbrian Water, which had stated it was satisfied with the applicant's drainage plans.

Traffic concerns

Local residents objecting to the scheme have expressed fears that it could add to traffic jams in an already busy area and would be "completely unnecessary" given the petrol station, Travelodge and McDonald's on the other side of the road.

But city planners had found that the development would have "minimal" traffic impact, as well as "no direct noise impacts" to nearby houses.

In an earlier version of the project, applicant Brookfield Property (Holdings) Limited included two drive-through units but the plans were refused permission in 2023 on the grounds of overdevelopment and harm to the environment.

The updated application said: "Careful consideration has been given to the design of the roadside services to ensure it responds to the existing site context to provide balance of functional capacity and the preservation of the environment and local amenity."