People in Carlisle fear that a planned petrol station, shop and drive-thru coffee shop will make congestion worse and increase the risk of flooding.
EG On the Move wants to erect the four-pump filling station, with electric vehicle hub, on land off Warwick Road.
It has applied to Cumberland Council for permission for the development on land next to the existing Lidl store and Shiny car wash.
The site would include 30 parking spaces and the convenience store would be 485sq m and the coffee shop 171sq m.
Vehicles would access the site from its southern boundary, directly off Warwick Road.
Banners have been put up on the fences of Botcherby Community Centre, urging people to comment on the plans.
Centre manager Helen Fisher said she felt the proposed development was appalling and added: “I can’t believe that anybody’s even suggesting that they build on there.”
She said her concerns included environmental issues, including flood risk, as well as traffic congestion and highway safety. She added: “That junction, at the end of Victoria Road, it’s already choked with the addition of Lidl being there.”
Bethany Wood, a 27-year-old single mother from Botcherby Avenue, also opposes the plans and said her main concerns were with environmental issues.
She added: “We need that field to stop flooding from happening, the overflow of the flash floods, and then there’s the noise pollution, the air pollution and the light pollution.”
Miss Wood said she understood it was a condition that no development could take place on the site when plans for the Lidl were approved, because of the potential flood risk.
Leslie Mooney, of Victoria Road, said she felt the application was ludicrous and stupid for a number of reasons including traffic congestion, pollution, flooding.
She added: “The knock-on effect it has within the city and on the schools in the area. I’m just utterly in disbelief with it.”
Michelle Graham, a clinical educator from Victoria Road, said she did not support the application and added: “I don’t think we need a petrol station when we’ve got one, 200 yards down the road.”
She said that before the arrival of Lidl the road was relatively quiet. She added: “It’s chock-a-block on a morning and I just think that would contribute to the flow of traffic.
“My concern is the sheer amount of vehicles that it would attract when children are going to school, especially on bikes and walking, and I worry about the flood plain.”
Neil Cunningham, an 85-year-old who has lived in Victoria Road for the past 57 years, said his main concern was traffic and added: “What are they going to do with the traffic?”
He said he was also concerned that it was proposed on a flood plain. “It’s the only bit of soakaway down there, it floods anyway, but it’d be even worse with the more buildings on it,” he said.
Deborah Earl, a former county councillor from Harraby, said: “That piece of land is a soakaway for floodwater. And, as you know, residents have been flooded twice over the last few years.”
She said she was also concerned that there would be an increase in the volume of traffic and the area was often at a standstill. She added: “I just don’t think it’s the right place to put a new petrol station when there’s one a few metres up the road.”
Residents Dave and Babs Israel also oppose the application and said they were frustrated by the plans and added: “We are all passionate about preserving the quality of life in our community and protecting the environment.
“The thought of a petrol station and drive-thru is a nightmare scenario, with this area already blocked with traffic and pollution and we’re convinced it will bring nothing but more blight and chaos to our neighbourhood.”
