Plans for service station, holiday lodges, farm shop and other facilities at site in Northumberland clears National Highways hurdle
Plans for a major scheme at a site near Morpeth have cleared a planning hurdle.
The previous outline proposal by GH Group (2018) Ltd in 2020 for the area of land located at the bottom of Stannington Station Road near the A1 was for a hotel, business hub units including retail, an electric vehicle charging station and car parking. This was later withdrawn.
A new bid was submitted to Northumberland County Council in late 2023. It seeks full planning permission for a service station and a rest area including a cafe, 20 holiday lodges, a farm shop and other facilities.
Various consultees have been responding to the plans and National Highways recommended last year that the council should not proceed to the next stage until it was satisfied with information relating to noise mitigation measures and the boundary with its land ‘to ensure that it is not possible for errant children and dogs to stray beyond the site’.
Amended plans and clarifications have been submitted by the applicant over the last few months and earlier this month, a National Highways official wrote to say the organisation “is content that the application can move forward for determination at planning committee subject to a condition being imposed in relation to the construction and maintenance of the development’s site boundary treatment, acoustic fence and security weldmesh fence”.
As well as the case being made for approval by the applicant, objections have been lodged by around a dozen local residents and Stannington Parish Council’s concerns include “the inclusion of a farm shop and cafe when there is already a successful farm shop and cafe business on Station Road”.