Planning officials have approved Pendragon’s plans to develop a new Ford car dealership in Motherwell.

The Scottish Daily Record reported that North Lanarkshire Council had given the AM100 car retail group the go-ahead to redevelop Lookers’ former Taggarts Nissan dealership site on Windmillhill Street, Motherwell, to create the new facility.

Upon completion, Pendragon’s Ford franchise will complete a move from its existing location less than a quarter of a mile away on the same stretch of road.

Case officer Ann McGregor noted in her report that the planned development would be “considerably smaller” than the combined footprint of the existing buildings on the former Nissan site, which occupy around 3,010 square metres, also noting that the buildings had been vacant for over four years.

She added: “The continued use of the site for car vehicle sales will give rise to regular vehicle trips and deliveries via car transporters. However, it is considered that trips will be spread throughout the day and that the impact on the local road network will be negligible as a result.”

In December AM reported on Your Ford Centre Group's plans to develop a new Dundee car dealership after expanding its portfolio in the city previously served by Arnold Clark.

Pendragon’s new Ford dealership has been given the go-ahead less than a week after Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) new car registrations data for 2022 revealed that Volkswagen had pipped the brand to retain its spot as the UK’s best-selling brand with bumper December sales.

The Ford Transit was, nonetheless, the UK’s best-selling vehicle last year - beating the Nissan Qashqai

Last summer Ford chief executive Jim Farley said that future dealer standards will be “brutal” to ensure that the brand has the physical network to outperform its car manufacturing competitors.