Plan to build motorway services on greenbelt land should be rejected

A proposal to build a Roadchef motorway services area beside the A1 should be rejected, councillors have been advised.

A proposal to build a motorway services area (MSA) across 14 acres of farmland should be rejected, councillors have been advised, as it would harm Green Belt land designated to safeguard the countryside from becoming part of the country’s fourth most populated urban area.
North Yorkshire councillors are being urged to reverse one of Selby District Council’s final decisions before it was merged with seven other authorities last April amid ongoing concerns that Roadchef’s planned MSA beside the A1 at the A63 Selby Fork would also hit the area’s traditional buildings and landscape.
The recommendations by North Yorkshire planning officers come almost a year after similar advice by their Selby district counterparts was not adhered to by elected community representatives, with councillors concluding the application met the “very special circumstances” test for a large Green Belt development.
If Roadchef’s scheme is given the green light again by councillors on Tuesday (March 12), it would require referral to the Secretary of State as the proposed
development is for a building more than 1,000sq m in the Green Belt.
The MSA would include toilets, a seating area, numerous restaurant outlets, a shop, a gaming area, 351 car parking spaces and some 46 HGV parking spaces, over and above those required for the MSA.

Planning documents lodged by Roadchef state the nearby Sherburn Industrial Estate is recognised as a major industrial site and with planning permission for a 1,250,000sq ft expansion, the estate is “one of the most significant new development sites in Yorkshire, both in terms of the jobs it will create, and the inward investment it will attract”.

The documents state Roadchef considers the identification of up to 32 HGVs being parked on the roadside in the area each evening presents a local need for HGV lorry parking.

The papers state: “To support the level of growth forecasted and secured at Sherburn, essential HGV infrastructure is required to prevent lorry drivers parking overnight or long stay at laybys and local roads within a five-mile
radius of the estate. The provision of a MSA has been identified as a viable development opportunity to address a situation local to Selby.”

Scores of letters of support have been sent to the council in support of the proposal, with some stating the MSA would be a boost to the area’s economy and the health and safety of HGV drivers in this area. 

However, parish councils have raised concerns over the impact on the Green Belt and campaign group CPRENEY said Roadchef’s argument for being allowed to develop on the South and West Yorkshire Green Belt appears to be predicated on need for the proposed HGV parking area.

In a report to North Yorkshire Council’s strategic planning committee planning officers said the proposal would result in “substantial harm to the openness of the Green Belt and one of the purposes of including land within the Green Belt to safeguard the countryside from encroachment”.
They added the proposed development would not sufficiently minimise impacts and enhance the traditional character of buildings and landscape and would not provide sufficient new opportunities to better join up existing green infrastructure as well as creating new green infrastructure.

The report states: “In terms of matters weighing in favour of the proposals, the primary consideration is whether there is a compelling need for an MSA in this Green Belt location. There are no gaps of more than 28 miles between MSAs. The proposed development would be located a distance of approximately six miles from Ferrybridge MSA and 15 miles from Wetherby MSA.

“The applicant has identified a local need for lorry parking to support economic development in Sherburn in Elmet. While providing for that need would be a benefit of the scheme, it is not considered that, of itself, justifies the provision of a new, full scale MSA in a Green Belt location where there is no compelling need for an MSA.”