A DECISION on whether Botley will lose its petrol station has been delayed and more objections to the Seacourt Retail Park scheme have poured in.

Original plans for the £15m development – now in its second stage – were approved in 2013 and the new application is for alterations.

In light of the imminent loss of another petrol station in Oxpens, fresh objections have been raised by residents. The decision has been delayed for Vale of White Horse District Council to consider its impact on the environment.

If the plans go ahead, the next nearest filling station would be at Heyford Hill Sainsbury’s and would mean just seven places remain to fill up inside the ring road.

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County Councillor Janet Godden said: “People in a community of this size should be able to fill up without having to go miles round the ring road.

“The loss of the Oxpens petrol station has brought about objections and rightly so.”

Plans to redevelop the West Way shopping centre – across the road from Seacourt Retail Park – are expected to be put forward later this year and will contain a supermarket but no petrol station.

The North Hinksey councillor said, with both planned developments at a similar stage, a more joined up approach was needed. She added: “To future generations it will seem absurd, and a colossal missed opportunity, if the Seacourt Towers site and the adjacent West Way site are not now treated as a whole.

“Vale of White Horse District Council should have the powers to say, ‘Hang on, we need a masterplan’.”

Work started in 2013 on the £15m two-stage development of the Seacourt Retail Park. site, owned by British Airways Pension Trust The first phase, completed in April 2014, included a Decathlon outdoor leisure store, JD Sports and Dreams. The finished site will bring 150 jobs.

Plans to begin the second phase, of a project to redevelop Seacourt Retail Park, including demolition of the Hartwell Ford BP garage, were submitted in May.

Changes to the scheme since 2013 would mean a planned Homebase is replaced by smaller shops and a restaurant.

Cumnor Parish Council objected to the effect a food or drink outlet would have on the nearby West Way. It also said the redevelopment of Oxpens, which will mean the petrol station is demolished, proved decisive in their latest submissio.

The objection read: “Due to the changed situation, residents and businesses would need to travel to Sainsbury at Heyford Hill or Kidlington, BP at Woodstock Road roundabout or the A40 at Eynsham to obtain fuel.

“It would boost emissions and reduce sustainability.”

In June North Hinksey Parish Council objected due to uncertainty over the future of the Oxpens petrol station.

The consultation had more than 30 objections. A decision is expected in October.