Councillors have approved the latest plans for a motorway service station near to Kirby Hill.

Applegreen Ltd submitted amended plans for the scheme between junctions 48 and 49 of the A1(M) northbound, between Boroughbridge and Ripon.

It would see a Welcome Break built at the site, as well a filling station and 364 car parking spaces created.

The proposal already has outline permission after the government’s Planning Inspectorate approved the plan on appeal in April 2021.

At a meeting last week, councillors on North Yorkshire Council’s strategic planning committee approved the amended proposal.

Applegreen, which is based in Dublin, applied for amendments to its plan, including an extension to the length of the slip roads and increasing the permissible height of the eastern dumbbell roundabout by up to 1.25 metres.

In documents submitted to the council, the company said the changes were “limited design amendments”.

But, Gareth Owens, of Kirby Hill Residents Against Motorway Services, told the committee that the plan did not amount to minor amendments.

He said:

“Minor amendments would not warrant an officer’s report that runs to 110 pages.”

Mr Owens added:

“What we have here is an applicant who misrepresented to an inspector at a public inquiry what it is possible to achieve on this site.

“They are now having to row back from that position and ask your permission for a much more harmful scheme.

“Let’s not be taken in by the claim that these are minor amendments.”

Cllr Nick Brown, who represents the area on North Yorkshire Council, said he knew of no other local issue which residents felt more strongly about.

He added the scheme was “materially different” to what was approved by the government’s Planning Inspectorate.

Nick Roberts, who represented Applegreen at the meeting, said the need for a motorway service station at the site was established by a planning inspector after a three-week public inquiry.

Read more:

• Government approves A1 service station after fourth appeal in 25 years

• Harrogate council paid £45,000 in Kirby Hill and Ripon service station legal fees
• Residents object to latest Kirby Hill service station plans

The move comes after the government approved plans for the service station following a series of public inquiries and planning battles.

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.

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.

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

Kirby Hill and District Parish Council has objected to the latest plans to build a motorway service station near to the village.

Applegreen Ltd has submitted amended plans for the scheme between junctions 48 and 49 of the A1(M) northbound, between Boroughbridge and Ripon.

It would see a Welcome Break built at the site, as well a filling station and 364 car parking spaces created.

The proposal already has outline permission after the government’s Planning Inspectorate approved the plan on appeal in April 2021.

However, the parish council has objected to the proposal on the grounds that the developer was planning “major changes” to its plan.

It added that there was already a service station planned for Catterick and one on the A168 near Thirsk, which it says “plugs the gap” for a motorway service area.

In its objection, which was sent to North Yorkshire Council by parish council clerk, Martin Rae, the authority also called for the proposal to be considered by a planning committee.

It said:

“It [the parish council] also requests that this resubmitted application is dealt with by the planning authority in full committee at Tier 1 level.

“This is because councillors believe that it cannot be considered in isolation in view of the changed wider context in which services have now been approved at Catterick and greater provision of services now exists on the A168 link to the A19 at Thirsk.”

Read more:

• Government approves A1 service station after fourth appeal in 25 years

• Harrogate council paid £45,000 in Kirby Hill and Ripon service station legal fees
• Residents object to latest Kirby Hill service station plans

Applegreen, which is based in Dublin, applied for amendments to its plan, including an extension to the length of the slip roads and increasing the permissible height of the eastern dumbbell roundabout by up to 1.25 metres.

In documents submitted to the council, the company said the changes were “limited design amendments”.

North Yorkshire Council will make a decision on the proposal at a later date.

The move comes after the government approved plans for the service station following a series of public inquiries and planning battles.

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.

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.

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

Residents in Kirby Hill have objected to latest plans for a motorway service station near to the village.

Applegreen Ltd has submitted amended plans for the scheme between junctions 48 and 49 of the A1(M) northbound, between Boroughbridge and Ripon.

It would see a Welcome Break built at the site, as well a filling station and 364 car parking spaces created.

The proposal already has outline permission after the government’s Planning Inspectorate approved the plan on appeal in April 2021.

However, the Dublin-based company has applied for amendments to the plan, including an extension to the length of the slip roads and increasing the permissible height of the eastern dumbbell roundabout by up to 1.25 metres.

In documents submitted to the council, Applegreen said the changes were “limited design amendments”.

It said:

“These minor changes to the access / junction linking the motorway service area to the A1(M) are needed in order that this access is in full compliance with the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (as required by National Highways).

“There are no other material amendments proposed whatsoever to the scheme approved under the 2021 permission.”

The site plan for the service station at Kirby Hill.

However, residents in Kirby Hill have argued that the changes are not minor and called on North Yorkshire Council to refuse the application.

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

“Applegreen’s failure to implement the scheme approved by the Inspector proves the case that we have been making for 27 years – a motorway service area cannot be assimilated into the large-scale, open, rural landscape at this location.

“We urge the members of the new North Yorkshire Council planning committee to refuse these two applications, as their predecessors on Harrogate Borough Council have always done, and ensure that there will be no services here.”

Read more:

• Government approves A1 service station after fourth appeal in 25 years

• Harrogate council paid £45,000 in Kirby Hill and Ripon service station legal fees

The Stray Ferret approached Applegreen for a response to residents’ concerns, but had not received a reply by the time of publication.

North Yorkshire Council will make a decision on the proposal at a later date.

The move comes as the government approved plans for the service station after a series of public inquiries and planning battles.

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.

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.

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

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.”

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.

Residents in Kirby Hill have said plans for a motorway service station have been “a burden” on the village for the past 25 years.

Kirkby Hill Residents Against Motorway Services (RAMS) have campaigned against four applications on the site on the A1 northbound, which is just 500 yards from the village.

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

Now, residents are set for a fourth public inquiry tomorrow after Applegreen, the latest developer to have submitted a proposal, has appealed against another rejection by Harrogate Borough Council.

Gareth Owens, chair of the RAMS since 2002, said the village is tired of fighting the proposals and expect them to come back every five years.

He said:

“The thing people say to me is ‘when will no mean no?’.

“This is the fourth public inquiry in 25 years and it’s a burden on the village.”

The motorway service station site, as proposed by Applegreen, on the A1 northbound near Kirby Hill.

Mr Owens and his team will once again mobilise for the inquiry tomorrow.

Twenty-two residents will give evidence to the inquiry, which is being held online due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Read more:

• Kirby Hill residents prepare to continue motorway services fight

• Motorway services plan near Ripon rejected

• Two A1 service station appeals to be heard in New Year

Residents are expected to argue that there is no need for another service station on the A1 and that the development would do more harm than good.

In evidence due before the inquiry, they will say that the Secretary of State refused permission for the Kirby Hill site twice in favour of a station at Wetherby in 2003 and an upgrade to Leeming Bar in 2012. They will also say that the development is contrary to the newly adopted Harrogate district local plan.

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

While the last quarter of a century has been difficult for residents, Mr Owens said they are determined to see off another attempt to build on the site.

He said:

“It’s taken up a large amount of time and effort.

“One of the things we say is what we could have done to benefit the community if we were not fighting this.

“But we are determined to see this off. That been said, it has brought the community closer together.”

The Stray Ferret contacted Applegreen for comment, but did not receive a response by time of publication. The company said previously that it would not be appropriate to comment until the appeal had been heard.