NEAR-bankrupt Somerset Council is being threatened with an expensive planning appeal over a proposed A39 service station and retail centre outside Minehead before any decision has even been taken on the plans.

Dorset-based Forelle Estates Ltd wants to put a petrol filling station with a Costa coffee drive-thru, a convenience store, and an electric vehicle (EV) charging hub on a 1.7-acre site just inside Dunster parish next to Ellicombe roundabout.

The application was made in January of last year and should have been determined by April, but the authority recently agreed an extension of time until March 27 this year.

Now, Forelle’s John Mason and planning agent Gary Morris have met council planning officer Joe Yardley to discuss the latest position.

Mr Morris stepped up pressure on the council by claiming the proposal was well-thought-out and well-located ‘with good prospects on appeal, if required’.

The council is known to have stopped defending some appeals because it cannot afford the thousands of pounds involved in hiring barristers to argue its case.

Mr Morris also expressed the view the application should go to a planning committee for councillors to make a decision rather than being delegated to officers.

He said there was evidence of ‘orchestrated campaigns’ both in support of and against the scheme.

Mr Morris said the site should not be considered ‘open countryside’ but contiguous with the built-up area because of nearby residential development, existing highways infrastructure, and the fact it was of ‘limited landscape value’.

A total of 130 letters of support have been submitted from people living in an area stretching from Bristol to Bournemouth and to Cornwall, while 717 objections have been made, many of them local people backing a campaign by an Ellicombe residents’ group.

Strong opposition also came from Minehead town and Dunster parish councillors, Minehead Conservation Society, and Exmoor National Park Authority.