NEW plans for a second petrol filling station in Portishead have been met with mixed emotions from residents.

Furniture giant Arthur Llewellyn Jenkins has submitted a planning application to North Somerset Council to build a fuel station on land off Serbert Way, where the organisation also plans to build a furniture store. If the application is approved, work could begin before the end of the year.

However, the details provided show the filling station will only be open from 6am-11pm daily, the same hours as that of Waitrose garage which already operates in the town.

Portishead once had more than four fuel stations in the town, but currently, despite its vast expansion, it has only one. The current facility does not offer a 24-hour service and often becomes congested at peak times, with traffic spilling out on to nearby roads.

Motorist Jimmy Williams, of Redcliffe Bay, said: “A lot of drivers will welcome another petrol station in Portishead as it is desperately needed. It will provide choice for motorists and may also reduce the congestion around the existing garage, however, it is disappointing that we are not going to get a 24-hour facility which I feel a town of this size needs.”

The new garage will provide up to 12 new job opportunities.