Campaigners in Kirby Hill have given North Yorkshire Council notice of a legal challenge against a decision to approve a motorway service station near the village.
Kirby Hill Residents Against Motorway Services have told the authority they intend to press ahead with a judicial review over a move to grant permission for the service station between junctions 48 and 49 of the A1(M) northbound, near Boroughbridge and Ripon.
Councillors on the authority’s planning committee granted approval for the scheme on September 12, which would see a Welcome Break built at the site, as well a filling station and 364 car parking spaces created.
The proposal already had outline permission after the government’s Planning Inspectorate approved the plan on appeal in April 2021.
Applegreen, which is based in Dublin, applied for amendments to the proposal, 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.
However, Gareth Owens, chair of the Kirby Hill RAMS, said the move amounted to “significant change” to the scheme and confirmed the campaign group would challenge the approval.
He said:
“The leader of the new council, Cllr Carl Les, told parishes that he wants to work with them and ensure their voice is represented in North Yorkshire Council decisions.
“These laudable principles form the basis of the parish charter that he signed in July 2023. Two months later, planning officers and the strategic planning committee have ridden roughshod over the needs, rights and wishes of the local community.
“This is totally unacceptable. We have written to the council initiating the pre-action protocol for judicial review and giving them 14 days to reconsider this decision and respond, in light of the serious legal issues that we have identified.”
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Mr Owens said the group would challenge the decision on four grounds: unlawful decision, irrational decision, procedural impropriety and unfair decision.
The Stray Ferret approached North Yorkshire Council for comment, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
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.
