A petrol station in Teignmouth could begin operating 24 hours a day under new proposals submitted to the local planning authority, with the applicant arguing there are no existing restrictions preventing round-the-clock trading.
The application, submitted by Motor Fuel Group, seeks a Certificate of Lawfulness for the proposed 24-hour opening of the Morrisons petrol station on Newfoundland Road. The submission does not propose any physical changes to the site, but instead asks the council to formally confirm that extended opening hours would be lawful.
According to the planning statement, the request has been made under Section 192 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to determine whether “the proposed 24 hour opening of Morrisons Petrol Station Teignmouth would be lawful”.
The document explains that a review of the site’s planning history identified a previous major application (reference 11/02074/MAJ), which approved the development of a foodstore, petrol filling station and associated infrastructure. However, the applicant states that no conditions were attached to that permission restricting opening hours.
“It appears from the local planning authority public records that there have been no planning applications granted with conditions that restrict opening hours of the petrol station,” the statement says.
As a result, the applicant argues that the current operating hours are effectively unrestricted by planning conditions and are “by default”. The submission continues that, in the absence of any formal limitation, there is “no evidence to establish that opening hours have been restricted in the process of granting planning permission for the petrol station”.
The application relies heavily on planning records held by the council, noting that “evidence of the grant of planning permission is generated by the council and recorded on their planning portal,” and that these records have been used to support the case.
No specific public objections, environmental concerns or council responses are detailed within the submitted planning statement. The document focuses solely on the legal planning position regarding opening hours rather than assessing wider impacts such as noise, traffic or effects on nearby residents.
Under the lawful development certificate process, the council must assess whether the proposal is legally permissible based on existing planning permissions and evidence. The statement notes that if there is no evidence to contradict the applicant’s case, and it is “sufficiently precise and unambiguous”, there is “no good reason to refuse the application”.
