Plans for a new petrol station and shop have been revealed.

Poppyella Holdings is hoping to build on land off the Barton Hill Drive roundabout on Lower Road in Minster.

If it goes ahead, it would be Sheppey’s fourth petrol station and would serve the eastern end of the Island, which attracts thousands of tourists a year.

According to Poppyella, the business – including 20 car parking spaces and five HGV spaces – would be opposite the Ovinia Chase housing development.

It would also be close to the A249 for traffic going on and off the Island.

There are currently three other petrol stations on Sheppey - at Tesco, Morrisons and Queenborough Corner.

Poppywell boss William Hewitt says the facility is needed due to mass housebuilding in Minster, with its population of around 17,000 expected to boom further.

Swale has set a deadline of June 26 to either approve or reject the plans.

Sheppey East councillor Lee-anne Moore welcomed a new petrol station but says she would love to see another one come to Eastchurch.

She said: “It will be an on-route stop for east-end drivers rather than them having to go into Queenborough or Sheerness.

“But it is still quite a distance – seven or eight miles, or so.

“If we can find a space for a petrol station in Eastchurch, it would be a real benefit for residents and tourists.

“At the moment, they always need at least seven or eight miles’ worth of fuel in their vehicles just so they can get to a petrol station.”

Mr Hewitt’s proposals follow a separate scheme proposed by Marshland Lettings in November 2023.

It wanted to build a petrol station, a convenience store, 37 business units, and an office block on 14 acres of farmland off the nearby Thistle Hill roundabout between Sheppey Rugby Club and the Marshland Industrial Estate.

The plans received backing from local businesses, with the developers saying it would give people easy access to several amenities in Minster.

However, the plans were ditched in March because of concerns about the potential harm to the area’s character.

The company resubmitted the proposals that month, minus the petrol station and with a changed road layout - a council decision is pending.

Minster is facing an increase in housebuilding with more than 1,300 new homes presently having planning permission.

That number could rise, however, to almost 2,000 if developers MLN Ltd has plans for 650 homes off Scocles Road approved.

That decision rests with an independent planning inspector after Swale council took too long to consider the application.

Ironically, it later approved the plans but the process with the inspector had got under way.