Cash machine outside Horsham Tesco store turned down

The district council received more than 20 letters objecting to the application, which asked for an ATM to operate during the 6am-11pm opening hours of the Tesco Express in Brighton Road.

Similar applications were refused by the council in 2013, refused at appeal and then refused again in 2014.

While officers recommended the application be approved, members agreed with residents who raised concerns about road safety, noise, antisocial behaviour – and whether a cash-point was even needed.

Godfrey Newman (Lib Dem, Forest) said the ‘atrocious parking’ in the area would get worse as people stopped to withdraw cash.

He told the meeting: “We’re here to help and make sure life is not intolerable for the local residents.

“I suspect there will be more people parking there once they find out the machine is open and that will just make matters worse.”

Peter Burgess (Con, Holbrook West) agreed, adding that the people who used the cash-point were unlikely to be those who used the shop.

Criticism was aimed at the West Sussex County Council highways team, which raised no objection to the application, saying it wouldn’t have an ‘unacceptable impact’ on road safety.

David Skipp (Lib Dem, Forest) said he did not believe the team had looked at the application carefully enough.

Members rejected the application due to their concerns about road safety and the impact it would have on people living nearby.