Costco petrol station to grow to 12 pumps after "horrendous" queues

The petrol station at Costco's Birmingham warehouse is to be expanded from eight pumps to 12, after queues for cheap fuel spilled onto one of the city's main roads.

The plans were approved unanimously by Birmingham City Council's planning committee on Thursday 8 October.

What will change

As well as the four extra pumps, the plans include:

• a change to the existing canopy over the forecourt;
• a dedicated fuel-only lane, so drivers queuing for petrol are kept apart from shoppers;
• a dedicated lane for traffic heading to the car park.

Queues onto the Heartlands Parkway

A document submitted with the application said the fuel station was a popular addition when it was first built and operated without problems. "Since this time the fuel market has become less competitive making Costco's pricing structure more attractive to members, resulting in higher demand," it said.

Demand now exceeds the station's design capacity at peak times. "At very busy times queueing has impacted the entrance to the Costco warehouse and the A47, Heartlands Parkway," the document said. Costco had been in talks with the council about how to stop the queues reaching the road, and the plans were the result of those conversations.

With the new lanes, "any queues for fuel that do form will not include traffic for the warehouse and will not impact the Heartlands Parkway or wider road network", it said.

"A substantial way forward"

Cllr Gareth Moore (Conservative, Erdington) told the committee: "There are horrendous queues to try and get into Costco because of the rates they have for their petrol. The expansion will increase the capacity and therefore have less impact on the highway."

"This application may not solve the problem entirely but will go a substantial way forward to doing that," he said.

Why fuel queues are growing

Pump prices have risen sharply this year since the start of the war involving Iran. The RAC said on 2 October that the average price of diesel had passed £2 a litre for the first time. Warehouse clubs and supermarkets usually sell fuel more cheaply than other forecourts, which is drawing more drivers to them.

Drivers can now compare prices more easily: Google has added real-time petrol prices to Google Maps in the UK, so drivers can check the cost at nearby forecourts before they set off.

Tips if you are queuing

• Check the price of fuel near you before setting off: a short queue elsewhere may cost only a little more.
• Avoid peak times such as weekend mornings and the evening rush hour.
• Never queue in a way that blocks a junction, a bus lane or a pedestrian crossing.

Costco fuel is only available to members. Building work is expected to follow once the remaining details have been agreed.