New Extended Petrol Garage and Coffee Shop For West Hill


Existing Esso site has been demolished

Diggers moved in at the West Hill site over Easter
Diggers moved in at the West Hill site over Easter

The Esso Garage on West Hill, which was demolished over Easter, is to be replaced with a new petrol station and Costa coffee shop.

MFG - the largest independent forecourt operator in the UK which added the Esso brand to its network in 2018 - has planning permission to rebuild the petrol station forecourt and shop as well as add a fully functioning Costa coffee shop outlet with seating.

There will be newly built car wash facilities, petrol pumps and parking spaces.

Land at the back of the site – see the image below - which currently extends over the Tube tunnel, will be used for electric vehicle charging, jet wash bays and a grass area.

The West Hill Esso petrol station before demolitionThe West Hill Esso petrol station before demolition

Previously the green space at the back of the new development has been hidden from public view by fencing behind the old garage site. This has allowed for a wild green area to flourish over the years, as well as accommodating a small contractors’ yard.


New site. Picture: Wandsworth Council Planning Department

The Council has stipulated that a Tree Protection Plan and details of necessary pruning must be included before the space can be developed, so that trees and hedges on the site will be safeguarded in the interests of “visual amenity and the character of the area”.

The green space backs onto several houses and is also clearly visible to pedestrians crossing the Tube Bridge between Keswick Road and Lytton Grove.

Jennings Design, the Yorkshire based garage and parking forecourt plan specialist, has also had to take ecological concerns into account. An ecologist will conduct a site walkover 24 hours prior to commencement of each and every clearance activity to assess stag beetle larvae, mammals, breeding birds or reptiles found to be on site, and also to ensure measures are taken to prevent the entrapment of any creatures.

External lighting installation will need to comply with Bat Conservation Trust requirements to prevent harm to the local bat population.


The now cleared site on West Hill

The development is liable for a Community Infrastructure Levy, which means a charge can be imposed by the Council on the new development, which in turn aids the local authority in supplying necessary facilities for the borough.

Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More

This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism.

Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets.

We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more.

However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do.

We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area.

A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site.

One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute.

If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor.

For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.

 

April 27, 2021