Plans to convert what is claimed to be England’s oldest filling station into a house have raised concerns that the ground around it may be contaminated by nearly a century of garage use.

An application by Dr and Mrs M Clark of Glendore in the historic village of Turnastone within the Golden Valley proposed refurbishing the grade II-listed property and adding an extension, garage and new road access for this.

It was first used as a filling station in 1919 and its period pumps still stand in the front garden by the roadside. The house, thought to be around 100 years older, was last lived in in 2005 and its commercial use ceased in 2010.

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With some damage inside from water leaks, “change is necessary to ensure the long-term survival” of the building, according to the application, which said the land was not thought to be contaminated.

But Herefordshire Council’s environmental health officer Andrew Turner said its previous use was “potentially contaminative”.

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If a risk assessment confirmed this, there should be a site investigation, which could potentially lead to work being required to address it, “to avoid risk from contaminants or gases”, he said.

No formal objections from officials or the public have yet been published.

Comments on the planning application, numbered 233107, and on the application for listed building consent, numbered 233108, can be made until November 30.