Plans to reopen petrol station approved

Plans to reopen a petrol station in Wednesfield, in the West Midlands, have been approved.

The former Linthouse Service Station in Linthouse Lane is set to become a petrol garage and Morrisons Daily shop.

The site was last operated as a petrol station in 2011, and has since been used as a second-hand car dealership, servicing and as a shop.

The City of Wolverhampton council's licensing committee will meet on Thursday to decide whether to grant a new alcohol licence to the proposed shop.

The garage's canopy roof will be demolished, as part of the plans, while two new larger underground petrol tanks will replace an existing one.

A new shopfront and single-storey extension will also be built alongside a new cash machine and electric vehicle charging point.

A report outlining the council's approval said: "The proposed retail unit would be a new facility of an appropriately small scale and nature to meet the day-to-day local shopping needs of the population within convenient, safe walking distance.

"Although the petrol filling station has to share parking with the car repairs garage, this is an existing constraint that will not change with the proposal."

The application, which was revised after submission, has sought permission to sell alcohol from the store from 07:00 BST to 23:00 every day.

A number of objections have been made by concerned local residents who said the new shop and off-licence would become a "focal point for all kinds of antisocial behaviour including drunkenness, littering and criminal activity".

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.