Plans submitted for service station, cafe, holiday lodges and other facilities at site close to the A1 in Northumberland

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 This was later withdrawn.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 shortly before Christmas and it has now been validated by Northumberland County Council.

It seeks full planning permission for a service station and a rest area including a cafe and a total of 20 holiday lodges.

The site, on the opposite side of the road from a functioning petrol station and the Indian restaurant Char Mausum, comprises two distinct parts – a former petrol station and a former bungalow, known as Bardon.

All buildings have been demolished, however, the fuel tanks have not been removed and the site still has a concrete footprint and remnants of brickwork, while the former residential plot is now overgrown.

The description of the planning application in full is ‘service station and rest area consisting of: cafe (278m2), farm shop (201m2), 18no. 2 bed holiday lodges, 2no. 1 bed holiday lodges, 63no. car parking spaces including 8no. DDA, 2no. mobile home parking, 8no. motorcycle spaces, 14no. bicycle parking, EV charging points, PV array, forest and toddler playground and associated landscape improvements’.

A planning statement submitted as part of the scheme includes the following: “The proposed development is situated in the green belt, therefore there is a requirement to demonstrate Very Special Circumstances for a development.

“The site is a brownfield site in the green belt, ensuring it is far preferable to a previously undeveloped site, and it should be noted that the site is located as to provide an excellent base from which to explore eastern Northumberland.

“The proposed development would be an efficient reuse of a brownfield site, providing a development that would support Northumberland’s objectives of providing enhanced sustainable tourism facilities and additional employment local opportunities in the tourism and service sectors.

“The proposal would provide an ambitious renewable energies scheme, electric charging car parking and an integrated landscape and biodiversity scheme – all of which combine to provide an environmentally beneficial and sustainable development.”