An investigation has concluded that “no irregularities” took place when a Harrogate Borough Council planning officer sent emails saying he “massaged” a key report on plans for the controversial Kirby Hill A1(M) service station.

The council launched the probe after emails revealed Barrie Gannon, a former principal landscape architect, made changes to a report in 2019 when the council went against three previous refusals of the plans to recommend approval in what campaigners described as a “complete U-turn”.

Seventeen months later, the service station was approved at a fourth appeal by the developers despite 25 years of objections.

It is not known what changes were made to the landscape report, but Gareth Owens, chairman of Kirby Hill Residents Against Motorway Services, said he believes the council’s actions were “highly suspicious”.

Mr Owens also said he has “no confidence” that the matter has been “properly investigated” and added it “leaves more questions than answers”.

He said: 

“We think the council’s U-turn on the decision, after 25 years of objections on landscape grounds, is highly suspicious.

“The landscape position remained one of refusal until shortly before the planning committee meeting. It was altered only when a different landscape officer, by his own admission, ‘massaged’ the report.

“The council has not provided any evidence that this change of heart was above-board and followed due planning process.

“The absence of such evidence suggests that it was not.”

Change of stance

The emails, which have been seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, show Mr Gannon said to a colleague: 

“I’ve massaged the landscape section 9.56 -9.69 which hopefully reads better.”

Read more:

• Inquiry launched after council officer ‘massaged’ A1 service station report

• ‘There is a need’ for A1 service station near Kirby Hill, inquiry told
• Government approves A1 service station after fourth appeal in 25 years

The landscape report itself said the impact of the service station was “not substantive” in what campaigners described as the “complete U-turn” from a previous council assessment which warned the plans would cause “significant harm”.

This led to questions over why a change of stance was taken, but the council has repeatedly defended its position.

A council spokesperson said: 

“We can confirm that, following allegations that a report was ‘massaged’, an investigation was carried out.

“This investigation found no irregularities in the preparation of the officer report for the planning committee.

“As was stated at the time, officer recommendations are fair and impartial, and carefully considered against local and national planning policy, case law, consultation and anything else considered to be ‘material’ to the decision.”

Background: Villagers’ 25-year fight against the Kirby Hill service station

For over a quarter century, villagers living in Kirby Hill had been fighting – and winning – a battle against the plans from Irish-firm Applegreen.

The service station was refused four times by councillors on Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee and three times by a government inspector in 1997, 2003 and 2010.

However, their luck ran out in 2019 when a fourth government inspector gave the go-ahead.

Planning inspector David Rose said in his ruling that the proposals were “materially different” to past plans.

However, his decision was met with anger from villagers whose objections had not altered since the first application was submitted back in 1996.

Campaigners against a planned motorway service station in Kirby Hill have called on the government to review a decision to approve the development.

Gareth Owens, chair of Kirby Hill Residents Against Motorway Services, said the decision made back in April “does not make sense”.

It follows a 25 years of public inquiries and planning battles over the service station which is earmarked for a site between junctions 48 and 49 of the A1(M) northbound, between Boroughbridge and Ripon.

David Rose, the planning inspector who oversaw the latest inquiry, gave approval for the plan submitted by Dublin-based company Applegreen.

Read more:

• A1 service station decision ‘flies in the face of localism’, say campaigners

• ‘There is a need’ for A1 service station near Kirby Hill, inquiry told

Campaigners have called into question one of the policies used in the inspector’s report to approve the site, which says that the distance between motorway service areas (MSA) should be “no more than 28 miles, but it can be shorter”.

Mr Owens said the policy “appears to have been plucked out of thin air” and called for a review of the decision.

He said:

“The government should admit that it made a mistake in approving the Vale of York motorway services and should announce a review of this controversial decision.”

Mr Owens added that the service station was an example of developers pushing through applications and that proposed planning reforms had “gone too far”.

He added:

“Boris Johnson and his Secretary of State, Robert Jenrick, need to realise that their reforms of the planning system to make approval easier have already gone too far.

“People are outraged that controversial major developments, such as the proposed Vale of York motorway services, are being imposed on them.”

Julian Smith, MP for Skipton and Ripon, wrote to the government on behalf of residents to raise concern over the inquiry process.

In response, Eddie Hughes, minister for rough sleeping and housing, said while he understood the  “disappointment felt” by residents, the inspector took “full account” of representations made by them.

He said in a letter to Mr Smith:

“I understand the disappointment felt by Mr Owens and the other constituents you mention, that the outcome of these appeals was not what they were hoping. 

“However, it is clear from the decision that the Inspector took full account of representations received from interested local residents and, in particular, the evidence submitted by Kirby Hill Residents Against Motorway Services group. 

“Their representations are referred to and assessed by the Inspector throughout the decision.”

An inquiry has been launched after emails revealed a Harrogate council officer “massaged” a key report on now-approved plans for a controversial motorway service station on the A1(M) near Kirby Hill.

Emails seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service show that Barrie Gannon, former principal landscape architect at Harrogate Borough Council, made changes to a landscape report in 2019 when the council’s planning department went against three previous refusals to recommend approval.

Mr Gannon said he hoped the changes would make the report “read better” – although it is not yet known what was amended.

What is clear though are the report’s conclusions. It said the landscape impact of the service station was “not substantive” in what campaigners have described as a “complete U-turn” from a previous council assessment, which warned it would cause “significant harm”.

The revelations have sparked questions over why a change of stance was taken, as well as concerns over impartiality within the planning department.

Gareth Owens, chair of Kirby Hill Residents Against Motorway Services, said:

“It is a mystery to us how officers made a complete U-turn on the landscape assessment. Landscape harm has been the main reason for refusal of a motorway service area at this site for 25 years.

“We do not understand how or why this position changed.”

The proposals put forward by Applegreen were most recently rejected by councillors in 2019.

However, that decision was overturned at an appeal this month as the developers won approval at the fourth time of asking.

Read more:

• Villagers battle weary as fourth inquiry into A1 service station starts

• ‘There is a need’ for A1 service station near Kirby Hill, inquiry told
• Government approves A1 service station after fourth appeal in 25 years

Mr Owens, who gave evidence during the appeal, said the landscape report played a key part in the planning inspector’s decision to grant approval, which made it even more important to understand why the council had changed its conclusions.

He said:

“The officer’s report was not only presented to the planning committee. It was relied on by Applegreen at the public inquiry, who told the inspector that he should accept the view of the council’s professional planning officers, which he duly did.

“The planning inspector went along with the planning officer’s conclusions on landscape, so we think it is important to understand how they were arrived at.”

In the email dated November 2019, Mr Gannon said to a colleague: “I’ve massaged the landscape section 9.56 – 9.69 which hopefully reads better.”

Robert Windass, the Conservative councillor for Boroughbridge and one of the planning committee members who previously rejected the service station, said he had “serious concerns” about the email after he made calls for the inquiry last week.

Speaking at a full council meeting, he asked the council’s cabinet member for planning councillor Tim Myatt:

“Will you undertake a full inquiry into this matter to ensure that all reports presented to the planning committee in future are factual, truthful and unbiased?”

In a statement, councillor Myatt later said he was “confident” that officers always made “fair and impartial” assessments of planning applications.

He said:

“Officer recommendations are formed based on their assessment of information available about the application, including information submitted by the applicant, internal and statutory consultees, and the public.

“I am confident that officer recommendations are based on a fair and impartial assessment of that information.

“Together with officers, I have met with councillor Windass to discuss his concerns regarding the landscape assessment included in the officer’s report to committee.

“I agree with councillor Windass that there is a need to provide residents with reassurance that our planning processes were followed correctly, and I have agreed with councillor Windass that we will look into the specific concerns he has raised before providing a report to councillors.”

Campaigners in Kirby Hill have said a government decision to approve a motorway service station on the A1 “flies in the face of localism”.

Gareth Owens, chair of Kirby Hill Residents Against Motorway Services, said the approval by planning inspector David Rose reversed 25 years worth of rejection by central government.

The proposal was submitted by Dublin-based company Applegreen and went to its latest public inquiry in February, which lasted for two weeks.

Mr Rose gave approval to the plan yesterday, which will see the service station built on the A1 northbound between junctions 48 and 49.

Read more:

• Villagers battle weary as fourth inquiry into A1 service station starts

• ‘There is a need’ for A1 service station near Kirby Hill, inquiry told

In a saga that has spanned a quarter of a century, the application has been before multiple council planning committees, faced four public inquiries and been turned down twice by the Secretary of State and the High Court.

Now, the plan has been given the go ahead after Mr Rose decided the benefits of the proposal outweighed the harm.

Gareth Owens, chair of the Kirby Hill RAMS, speaking against the application at Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee in 2019. Picture: Kirby Hill RAMS

Mr Owens described the decision as “disappointing” and added it had undone all the hard work by residents who have opposed the proposal over the years.

He said:

“We are disappointed as a community. 

“It flies in the face of localism that a man from central government can turn up and change the decision.

“The community has gone through a lot of effort to demonstrate that it is not an appropriate site for a motorway service station.”

In a decision notice yesterday, Mr Rose said after considering the evidence that the benefits of a service station would outweigh the harm.

He said:

“In summary, considerable weight attaches to the less than substantial harm relative to the identified designated heritage assets. 

“Loss of best and most versatile agricultural land is also a further negative factor of moderate weight. 

“However, individually, and cumulatively, the wider public benefit in meeting the demonstrable need for a motorway service area, for the safety and welfare of motorists, would outweigh that harm.”

The Kirby Hill RAMS group held a meeting last night to decide its response to the inspector’s decision.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret this month, Mr Owens said the group was prepared to continue to oppose the plan whatever the outcome of the appeal.

The government has approved a motorway service station on the A1 near Kirby Hill after 25 years of public inquiries and planning battles.

The proposal from Dublin-based company Applegreen will see the service station built between junctions 48 and 49 of the A1(M) northbound, between Boroughbridge and Ripon.

A filling station, hot and cold food outlets, a drive-through coffee shop will be built and 364 car parking spaces created.

However, a separate appeal from Moto Hospitality Ltd for a motorway service station on the A1 near Ripon has been rejected.

In a saga which has spanned a quarter of a century, Applegreen’s application has been before multiple council planning committees, faced four public inquiries and been turned down twice by the Secretary of State and the High Court.

Councillors on Harrogate Borough Council initially rejected the latest plan in 2019, but Applegreen took the decision to an appeal hearing, which was held in February.

Read more:

• Villagers battle weary as fourth inquiry into A1 service station starts

• ‘There is a need’ for A1 service station near Kirby Hill, inquiry told

The inquiry, which was held by planning inspector David Rose and streamed onto YouTube, lasted two weeks and included multiple testimonies from residents, campaigners and developer Applegreen.

The proposed motorway service station site on the A1 northbound near Kirby Hill.

In a decision notice today, Mr Rose said after considering the evidence that the benefits of a service station would outweigh the harm.

He said:

“In summary, considerable weight attaches to the less than substantial harm relative to the identified designated heritage assets. 

“Loss of best and most versatile agricultural land is also a further negative factor of moderate weight. 

“However, individually, and cumulatively, the wider public benefit in meeting the demonstrable need for a motorway service area, for the safety and welfare of motorists, would outweigh that harm.”

Speaking to the Stray Ferret earlier this month, Gareth Owens, chair of the Kirby Hill Residents Against Motorway Services, said the group was prepared to continue to oppose the plan whatever the outcome of the appeal.

Residents in Kirby Hill have pledged that they “will not stop” opposing a motorway service station on the A1 following the closure of a fourth public inquiry into the plans.

Gareth Owens, chair of the Kirby Hill Residents Against Motorway Service Station (RAMS), said the group was prepared to continue “robust opposition” to the proposals.

It follows the closure of a fourth inquiry in 25 years into the plan to build a service station off the A1(M) northbound near the village.

The hearings lasted two weeks and included multiple testimonies from residents, councillors and representatives from Applegreen, the developer.

Read more:

• Villagers battle weary as fourth inquiry into A1 service station starts

• ‘There is a need’ for A1 service station near Kirby Hill, inquiry told

Mr Owens said the inquiry was like a “soap opera” for the village, with local people tuning into the hearings which were streamed live on YouTube.

He added that residents felt the service station was a threat to their community and came together to oppose the plan.

Mr Owens said:

“The people who live here are the people who want to live an open life in the countryside.

“If you put a motorway service station there, we will feel like we are a different community. There are an awful lot of people who feel that way.

“Our experience of living here will be changed.”

David Rose (top right), the government’s planning inspector, opened the public inquiry into the A1 service station in February.

Mr Owens gave evidence at the inquiry, which was scheduled for 11 days but ended up lasting for two weeks. Some of the hearings ran for as long as eight hours.

The government’s Planning Inspectorate, which handles planning appeals, told the Stray Ferret that a decision on the service station was expected “in the coming weeks”.

Mr Owens said he felt residents gave a good account of themselves at the inquiry.

However, he added that the group would continue to oppose the application whatever the outcome.

“We’re not going to stop.”

The Stray Ferret approached Applegreen for comment, but did not receive a response.

Rhodri Price Lewis, who represented Applegreen at the public inquiry, told the inquiry there was an “established need” for a new motorway service area between Wetherby services and Leeming Bar.

Kirby Hill RAMS have maintained there is no need for the service station on the A1(M).