Plans to demolish ‘eyesore’ Ripon petrol station for housing

The former petrol station on Skellbank is in a residential area on the edge of the city centre.

It is visible on the route from Ripon towards the popular tourist landmark Fountains Abbey.

The site has been derelict for more than 20 years and has been described as an “eyesore” by local residents and councillors.

The applicant Tate Fuel Oils Ltd has asked North Yorkshire Council for permission to build a new apartment block which will be spread across three floors.

To limit the visual impact of the new building, which is adjacent to the listed Ripon Community Hospital, the firm has proposed that the ground floor entrance level is set lower than the existing level of the garage.

Car and cycle parking will also be included for residents.

Ripon City Council previously indicated at a meeting that it would be supporting the proposals.

It’s not the first time a regeneration of the site has been brought forward.

In 2003, Harrogate Borough Council approved a plan to demolish the petrol station in order to build eight flats but it never came to fruition with the permission now lapsed.

A similar plan was submitted in 2016 but was then withdrawn three years later.

Planning agent Johnson Mowatt said the site is in a desirable city centre location for future residents.

They wrote in planning documents: “The site has been vacant since approximately 2003, when it was used as a petrol station, workshop,

and retail space. The site is currently hoarded off, with limited access available. The underground tanks from the former petrol station have been removed, and the remaining structure is in poor condition with significant overgrowth of vegetation.

“This proposal will regenerate a derelict brownfield site by developing 7 self-contained apartments, which in turn will contribute towards achieving the district’s annual housing requirement of 637 dwellings.”

North Yorkshire Council will make a decision on the plans at a later date.