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29
Sept
Plans to expand Wetherby Services parking provision
Plans to expand HGV parking provisions at Wetherby Services have been submitted.
The application, lodged by Moto Hospitality Ltd last week, seeks approval to create a new parking area for HGVs and eHGVs (electric heavy goods vehicles).
The company also plans to install ancillary equipment and a new primary substation, as well as develop a new access route and landscaping.
According to planning documents, the proposed new parking area, which would see an additional 134 HGV bays created, would be built on arable agricultural land to the east of Wetherby Services.
The new parking area would take the total number of HGV parking bays at the site to 214.
Should plans be approved, the new eHGV parking bays will be delivered in three phases, with the initial work including the creation of bays for internal combustion engine HGVs and a “small number” of eHGV bays.
Once phase three is completed, all the new bays within the extension will be eHGV compatible, plans say.
The proposed substation would also be delivered in two phases; a 33 kilovolt switchboard in Bramham would be replaced during the first phase, before the new primary substation is built at Wetherby Services.
Plans add:
The proposed HGV extension will provide a safe and highly secure environment for lorry parking, with associated on-site security and CCTV monitoring. The delivery of the motoway service area (MSA), therefore, has the potential to significantly reduce freight crime in the local area by reducing the risks associated with lay-by parking.
Overall, the proposal will deliver essential transport infrastructure to support the safe and effective operation of the strategic road network, support the road freight industry, in accordance with the government’s aspirations set out within national policy.
Plans say the extension is driven by “national and local needs for increased HGV parking capacity and infrastructure to support low-carbon freight transport”.
Parking at Wetherby Services is over 100% occupied, the application adds, which is “reflective of the broader urgent need” for more HGV parking.
HGV drivers are legally required to stop every four-and-a-half hours to rest, meaning sufficient capacity to accommodate drivers at service stations is “vital”.
Moto Hospitality Ltd also aims to “enhance and upgrade" its facilities across the UK in order to meet customer demand and to achieve net zero targets.
The proposed site layout: phase one.
The proposed site layout: phase three.
The proposed site layout: phase two.
Access and landscaping
Plans say the new parking area would be accessed by the existing site, adding:
The proposed development itself will not alter the existing access arrangements between the public highway network and existing MSA, with the proposed HGV extension being accessed internally from the MSA itself.
According to planning documents, a transport assessment in support of the application concluded the proposed extension will "address the critical need for HGV parking" at Wetherby Services and along the A1(M) strategic corridor.
It adds the scheme "will not result in an unacceptable impact upon the operation of the highway network".
The application also says the proposed landscaping will reflect the existing landscaping at Wetherby Services:
The proposed extension would reflect the approach taken by the existing MSA, incorporating a comprehensive landscaping scheme as part of the development. This would include areas of landscaping with the site to improve the aesthetic appearance of the development, but most importantly, would include a landscaped ‘belt’, which would occupy the entire perimeter of the extension.
North Yorkshire Council will issue a verdict on the plans at a later date.
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