Petrol station and drive-thru coffee shop plans recommended for approval despite concerns over road safety

Plans to develop a petrol station and drive-thru coffee shop near Wrexham Golf Club will once again face debate next week.

Planning committee members will be asked to approve the application by Liberty Properties, who are proposing a convenience store, ATM and car washing facilities are built on land alongside the Llanypwll Link Road.

It is the third time plans for the site will have been debated in recent months, with the proposals initially going before committee members over the summer.

Following a site visit in August it was agreed that the application would be deferred amid concerns over road safety and access on and off such a busy road.

Next Monday the committee will be presented with additional information from the applicant, including the potential introduction of yellow transverse bar markings on the A5156 to slow speeds at the junction.

The report states: “Whilst this is an option for members to consider, there are concerns about the potential for noise disturbance for residential properties nearby.

“This though should be balanced against the background noise already associated with the traffic using the highway which is unlikely to significantly increase as a result of a scheme of bar markings.”

A second option put forward is the introduction concentric-spiral markings on the circulatory of the roundabout, with the markings designed to lead the outermost lane off at the desired exit.

It is noted that this proposal has been put forward after a speed survey and an investigation into how many accidents had taken place in the area had been carried out.

The report explains that four collisions have occurred at the A5156 / A534 roundabout (three slight severity incidents and 1 serious incident) since 2013. It continues onto say that none were recorded in 2016 or the first seven months of 2017.

The following average speeds are also noted as being recorded during the study, which was taken on a “sunny/fine day” when the “road surface was dry”.

1. A5156 Giveway approach inside lane 104 23.3 mph – 21.9 mph
2. A5156 Giveway approach outside lane 32 20.8 mph – 19.7 mph
3. A5156 / A534 circulatory inside lane 100 26.8 mph – 23.3 mph
4. A5156 / A534 circulatory outside lane 100 27.8 mph- 26.0 mph
5. A5156 at 200 yard marker inside lane 100 55.9 mph – 51.3 mph
6. A5156 at 200 yard marker outside lane 37 61.2 mph – 56.2 mph

However concerns about the development remain from the adjacent community council, who reference the camber at the Golf Club exit from the Holt Road Roundabout and question the data presented by the applicant.

The community council adds that: “It also wishes to highlight that the Draft Local Development Plan currently under consideration proposes 600 additional properties on land adjoining the Holt Road Roundabout.

“The main access to the proposed development will be via the Holt Road Roundabout and this will have a considerable impact on the level of traffic at this interchange.

“The Community Council objects to the findings of the Traffic survey and study which it believes to be untypical in the timing of the study on a Thursday afternoon at the end of August as many regular users of this roundabout will have been on annual leave.

“The Community Council recommends that a further survey is carried out under more normal and representative traffic conditions.”

Such concerns are echoed in three responses submitted by neighbouring residents, which question the accident data submitted and whether more up to date information should be provided.

One such response states: “Despite what the Applicant has submitted, the adjacent golf club staff and members have reported serious concerns about extra traffic using the access.

“The Crash Map site only reports police logged incidents and there are likely to be more accidents as a result of the considerable additional traffic which will be created by the proposed development using this access (which was only ever designed for access to the field).”

Another response adds: “The statement of the Applicant that ‘speeds do not appear excessive based on the nature of the roundabout’ is a subjective one, and also an expected one given that it supports the application.

“I can assure you that speeds are excessive and I anticipate that a major accident involving fatalities is already on the cards. Adding traffic to this exit will only exacerbate the situation.”

In his report the council’s head of environment and planning states that his recommendation to grant the application remains unchanged and that the committee will be asked to consider both the options to slow traffic (yellow transverse bar markings) and /or improve layout of the roundabout.

The application will be debated by members of Wrexham Council’s planning committee at 4pm on Monday 5th November. The meeting will also be webcast live on the council’s website.