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Certas' Isle Of Wight Fuel Depot Plans Approved Despite Objections

Certas Energy is promising to be on the Isle of Wight "for the long-haul" after plans for a new £1.5 million fuel depot were given the go ahead, despite a number of objections.

Isle of Wight councillors have granted the fuel firm permission to install tanks and an office building at the Island Technology Park in Whippingham. 

The site is set to be based on an unused plot of land next to the Isle of Wight College's CECAMM building.

Although plans were given approval, concerns were raised over the environmental impact and safety of the site.

With trucks expected to be frequenting the new depot, Priory School had questioned the safety of students there, at CECAMM and at Queensgate Primary.

But Paul Williams, a managing director at the firm, said traffic movement would be kept a minimum.

Speaking to Isle of Wight Radio, he said:

"What you'll tend to find is that we'll have the larger trucks to fill the depot itself, that will be done out of hours. Then the drivers would come in the following morning and would all load one after the other and then go out.

"It would be blocks of movement so it's not all of the time, all throughout the day. At this moment in time, we're looking at no more than 30 movements [a day] and that is very manageable for us in terms of the location."

Certas explored proposals for a permanent fuel terminal on the Island following the closure of Isle of Wight Fuels last year.

It left the Island without a main fuel supplier, or a hub.

Earlier this year, Certas leased a small plot at York Avenue Garage but never actually used the site.

The company had instead been transporting fuel from the mainland to the Island.

However, with ferry costs for its trucks exceeding £140,000, the company sought a more permanent solution. 

"Going forward, what we're trying to do is put proper infrastructure in place because the logistical challenges when you're having to travel across on ferries and the different mix of fuels we provide, we need to make sure we have fuel available at all times", Mr Williams said.

"It would only take one or two days of not being able to get across on a ferry before quite quickly you have run out situations. So we see the benefit for the Island, that we put the infrastructure in place and we ensure then that the contingency stock is always available."

As well as three tanks, fencing, parking and eight-metre high flood lights look set to be installed at the Whippingham site.

Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) said the lights would threaten the Island's Dark Skies status, and the plans were "short-sighted" and "aesthetically abhorrent" given its historical location.

The group called for a green and clean energy alternative.

Addressing the concerns, Mr Williams insisted the company is planning for the future. He said:

"As we think about the energy transition and where we go, we want to make sure the depot is fit for purpose. So it's not just for the next five years but it's ten, 15, 20 years that we can grow and transition with the Island.

"There will be things as part of the energy transition that we don't know today, but we'll make sure we work closely with all of the parties including the customers."

Mr Williams has also welcomed competition from new firm Solent Fuels as "healthy".

David Grannum, the former managing director at Isle of Wight Fuels, is behind the new fuel supplier, as Isle of Wight Radio reported last month.

Copies of Certas Energy's documents can be found on the Isle of Wight Council's planning portal, quoting 21/00279/FUL.

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