Vale of York services

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Vale of York services
Kirby Hill MSA area.jpg
Kirby Hill MSA area – the field beyond the motorway
North Yorkshire UK location map (2023).svg
Red pog.svg
Vale of York services
Location within North Yorkshire
Information
County North Yorkshire
Road A1(M)
Coordinates: 54°07′01″N1°24′54″W / 54.117°N 1.415°W / 54.117; -1.415
Operator Welcome Break

The Vale of York services (also known as Kirby Hill services) is a proposed motorway service area (MSA) on the A1(M) at Kirby Hill in North Yorkshire, England. The MSA site is located on the western side of the motorway between Junctions 48 and 49 near to the village of Kirby Hill, with access to both the northbound and southbound carriageways. Planning applications were submitted multiple times between 1996 and 2021 and were refused by Harrogate Borough Council and at Appeal for 25 years.

Contents

History

The proposed services at Kirby Hill have had a protracted approval process, being refused for 25 years until outline permission was finally granted after a fourth Public Inquiry, held virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2021. The section of road between Ferrybridge and Scotch Corner/Barton interchange was upgraded to motorway status gradually between 1999 and 2018. [1] The existing service areas at Leeming Bar and at Scotch Corner were designated as Motorway Rest Areas (MRA), not having the requisite facilities needed to be Motorway Service Areas (MSAs). Leeming Bar was granted permission to upgrade to an MSA after a Public Inquiry in 2010/11 at which the Kirby Hill proposal was once again refused. This meant that according to the designations, in 2021 there were technically no MSAs between Wetherby Services and Durham Services, a distance of 60.8 miles (97.8 km). [2]

In 2013, the Department for Transport recommended that MSAs should be spaced no more than 28 miles (45 km) between each other. [3] This led to three MSA applications for the A1(M) in North Yorkshire: (from South to North)

The Kirby Hill site (Vale of York), was approved after a public inquiry by a UK Government inspector in April 2021. The site had been the subject of three previous Public Inquries about an MSA at the location in 1997, 2003 and 2010. [7] The local opposition to the MSA, Kirby Hill RAMS (Residents Against Motorway Services) stated that they had been fighting for 25 years with the same in-principle objection to an MSA on this site, and that the planning system had been changed in the intervening years; "We feel that the thing that has changed here is the planning system, not the facts. After 25 years of playing the game and having it refused, you have to ask the question; what has changed?" [8] The MSA would be located on the western side of the A1(M) as an on-line MSA, with access both northbound and southbound, between junctions 48 and 49, where a new motorway junction and overbridge would need to be constructed to access the proposed MSA. The local community has criticised the height and visual impact of the new motorway junction, which would be the most prominent structure in the proposed development. [9] The works for a junction on the motorway would also require the A168 road to be moved eastwards from its current location, closer to the village of Kirby Hill. [10]

At the time of the 2021 inquiry, the MSA at Kirby Hill was costed at £40 million. In 2024, further details were submitted in a new reserved matters planning application which has been opposed by Kirby Hill RAMS and is yet to be determined. [11]

Motorway Rest and Services areas between Wetherby and Durham on the A1(M) (northwards)
LocationDistance from Wetherby MSA [note 2] OperatorNotesRef
Wetherby 0 Moto Opened in 2008 [12]
Vale of York12 miles (19 km) Welcome Break Approved in April 2021 [8] [13]
Ripon18 miles (29 km)MotoProposed by Moto to cover an area of 33 acres (13 ha) at Junction 50 on the A1(M). [8] [5]
Leeming Bar28.8 miles (46.3 km)MotoThe report by the Planning Inspectorate in 2021 stated that the services at Leeming Bar had "...limited poor quality facilities...requires substantial investment and therefore cannot be considered an MSA." [2] [8]
Coneygarth Truck Stop28.6 miles (46 km)Exelby [14] [15] [16]
Catterick MSA33 miles (53 km) Roadchef Planning permission was granted in July 2022. After a legal issue, this was returned to the council for approval and given further permission in December 2024. [14] [17] [18]
Scotch Corner 38.8 miles (62.4 km)Moto [14]
Barton Park40 miles (64 km)MotoAdvertised as Barton Park Truck Stop, but plans have been submitted for the site to be upgraded [14]
Durham MSA60.8 miles (97.8 km)Roadchef [2]
  Indicates that the site is an MSA that is operating
  Indicates that the site has been given planning permission
  Indicates that the site is not an MSA
  Indicates that the site has been denied planning permission

Facilities

The 2017 proposal detailed a 365-space car park and 82 slots for HGVs. Besides the main building, there would be a play area and a dog exercise zone. [9] The 2018 proposal had been extended to 383 car-parking spaces. Just 20 of these are chargepoints for Electric Vehicles. [19]

Notes

  1. ↑ Applegreen acquired a controlling stake in Welcome Break in 2018. The proposal for the MSA at Kirby Hill was put forward by Applegreen, but the MSA would be branded as Welcome Break. [4]
  2. ↑ Where possible, this is determined from the centre of the car park at Wetherby MSA, to the centre of the named services in the list. Whilst Leeming Bar Services are 28.8 miles from Wetherby, further than Coneygarth Services, the distance from the junction on the motorway to Leeming Bar MRA is further. [2]

References

  1. ↑ "£400million upgrade to A1 (M) near Catterick opened by Chris Grayling". Harrogate Advertiser. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Rose 2021, p. 8.
  3. ↑ "The Strategic Road Network and the Delivery of Sustainable Development" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  4. ↑ Walsh, Dominic (22 December 2020). "Welcome Break owner Applegreen to be taken private after founders win backing" . The Times. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  5. 1 2 Farrell, Stephen (3 August 2018). "Plans submitted for new North Yorkshire service station". Insider Media Ltd. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  6. ↑ "Catterick: New £57m service station set for go-ahead on A1(M)". BBC News. 22 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  7. ↑ Newton, Grace (15 April 2021). "Defeat in long battle to halt new A1 services". The Yorkshire Post. p. 7. ISSN   0963-1496.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Burn, Chris (27 April 2021). "Running out of road". The Yorkshire Post. p. 13. ISSN   0963-1496.
  9. 1 2 Flanagan, Emily (9 May 2017). "Residents air objections to motorway services plans". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  10. ↑ Rose 2021, p. 5.
  11. ↑ Webster, Jacob (19 February 2021). "Inquiry into rejected motorway service area on A1(M) underway". Darlington and Stockton Times. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  12. ↑ "Villagers in campaign for traffic U-turn" . infoweb.newsbank.com. 26 March 2010. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  13. ↑ Rose 2021, p. 2.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Rose 2021, p. 9.
  15. ↑ Minting, Stuart (15 July 2021). "Objection to Roadchef's £57m plan for A1(M) services as big as 110 Olympic pools". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  16. ↑ "Questions raised over £57m plan for giant motorway service area". The Yorkshire Post. 16 July 2021. p. 9. ISSN   0140-0460.
  17. ↑ "Catterick: Go-ahead given to £57m service station on A1(M)". BBC News. 28 July 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  18. ↑ Willis, Joe (13 December 2024). "Planners give go-ahead for A1(M) services". Darlington & Stockton Times. No. 2024–50. p. 1. ISSN   2516-5348.
  19. ↑ Kitchen, Ruby (3 January 2018). "Motorway services victory could be short-lived". The Yorkshire Post. p. 15. ISSN   0963-1496.

Sources

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