THE redevelopment of a petrol station has been halted after it emerged there was a "misunderstanding" over planning approval.

Earlier this month the shop building at the at the Three Nuns Service Station at Battyeford, Mirfield, near the Cooper Bridge roundabout, was demolished, with only the canopy remaining.

AY & Y Patel, which runs the Shell filling station, had been given approval in March 2019 to extend the existing shop building and provide more car parking.

Owner Yaqub Patel explained to the Telegraph & Argus that while he did not need permission to demolish the building, he has now submitted amended plans to Kirklees Council in order to reflect a full rebuild of the shop, rather than just extend it.

He said: "This has just been a misunderstanding, and once it was brought to my attention, I've made sure that amended plans have been submitted to the Council.

"No work will be taking place on rebuilding the shop until we get the right permission from the Council.

"We can still work on the rest of the site."

He added that the planning department had previously visited the site and that his firm was simply wanting to modernise the site and provide better facilities.

He said he was not aware of any enforcement action being taken by Kirklees Council, as he had not started constructing the building.

It also emerged that a fresh planning application was submitted a week ago to redevelop a triangle of grassed land next to the petrol station, to install electric vehicle charging points and more parking bays.

Kirklees planners are expected to determine this application in March.

The 2019 permission was to add a 22m by 19m extension to create a shop with 180 sq m of retail floorspace. No objections were lodged from neighbours or from Mirfield Town Council.

A retail statement submitted as part of the application stated that the increase in floor area was essential to meet the operational requirements of Spar, which runs the shop at the garage, and to maintain the brand image of Shell.

Mr Patel, whose firm was behind the large scale redevelopment of the Shell petrol station on Manchester Road in Bradford three years ago, added: "We abide by the rules and regulations. You didn't hear of any problems with the Manchester Road development."

The Bradford petrol station was completely redeveloped, reopening in 2016, with six pumps and a large Spar store, as well as a new Subway and Costa Coffee, with extra car parking available.

The company runs a number of petrol stations across the district.