Fuel Tanker Storage Plan Withdrawn Amid Protests

A plan to demolish a car servicing station so the site can be repurposed to store fuel tankers between two villages in Berkshire has been withdrawn.

A plan to demolish a car servicing station so the site could be used to store fuel tankers between Charvil and Twyford in Berkshire has been withdrawn.

An oil storage firm had applied to demolish the recently closed Prince Brothers servicing centre on the Old Bath Road, next to businesses such as the Total Tyre Company and E-Quipfix Ltd, to make space for eight fuel tankers. The project would have involved demolishing two buildings and recladding a retained building for staff.

The application was submitted to Wokingham Borough Council but proved controversial, with dozens of objections raising fears about the site's proximity to the Old River (a tributary of the River Loddon), flood risk and the nearby Loddon nature reserve.

Lee Cripps, who lives in Woodley, said: “The area is surrounded by flood areas, imagine the damage to the Charvil Country Park lakes, River Loddon and River Thames if the fuel entered the ecosystem?

“800,000 litres of fuel stored within 10 metres of the lakes?

“What if that 800,000 litres of fuel caught fire? How quickly could Fire Services reach the site, via what is essentially a residential road network?

“Yes, it’s on the A3032, but this is little more than a village residential road, it’s nowhere near the calibre of the A4, for example!

“This simply isn’t a suitable site for fuel storage and distribution!”

Mr Cripps also showed aerial photos of an HGV leaving the site and how close floodwater can reach the area during high water events.

Andy Church of the Charvil Fishing Society warned of the environmental risk, saying: “Charvil Country Park is a vital local resource for residents, visitors and anglers alike, for both physical and mental wellbeing.

“It is an irreplaceable wildlife reserve and home to a vast array of aquatic, bird, animal and plant life, including otters, badgers and deer.

“A huge number of bats and amphibians, including newts, are present in Charvil Country Park.

“This proposed facility is incompatible with the ecological and recreational land use of the country park.

“Any accidental leak or spill on this site would be catastrophic.”

Ultimately the application was withdrawn on Wednesday 14 January. A similar proposal on the site was also withdrawn in August last year.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter