Campaigners raise fresh concerns over A1(M) motorway services plan near BoroughbridgeCampaigners face high legal bill in bid to stop motorway services near Ripon

Campaigners in Kirby Hill have claimed North Yorkshire Council has threatened high legal costs to dissuade them from proceeding with a judicial review over a new motorway services near the village.

Kirby Hill Residents Against Motorway Services told the authority they intend to press ahead with legal action over a move to grant permission for a 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.

However, campaigners say the decision was flawed and that they intend to challenge the approval.

In a letter to Kirby Hill RAMS, the council said the decision was lawful and that it would contest any claim.

It added that it reserved the right to apply to the court to raise the claimant cost cap, which is set at £5,000 under the Aarhus Convention.

The convention, which is an international agreement, grants the public rights in accessing information and participation in government decision making on environmental matters, such as planning decisions.

The council’s letter said:

“We note that your pre-action letter does not address the claimant’s position on costs and the Aarhus Convention.

“Any such application will require the disclosure of the claimant’s finances and the defendant reserves the right, on consideration of said information, to apply to the court to raise the claimant’s Aarhus costs cap above the starting limit of £5,000.”

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Gareth Owens, chair of Kirby Hill RAMS, said the authority was using a threat of high costs to dissuade residents from challenging its decision.

He said:

“It feels like the council doesn’t want its decision to be challenged in the High Court and is saying ‘try it and we’ll have your house if you lose’.

“This is the reality of our new council, which told communities that it would listen to and work with them in the way it makes decisions and improves its delivery of services.

“In practice, at the first sign of a challenge, the council is prepared to ask the court to set aside the rights of residents to environmental democracy, to protect its decisions from proper scrutiny.” 

Mr Owens added that campaigners have responded to the council calling for a dialogue with the authority “to resolve the matter without recourse to legal proceedings”.

The Stray Ferret asked the council whether it had a response to the suggestion that it was threatening high costs to dissuade legal action over its decision.

Barry Khan, assistant chief executive for legal and democratic services at North Yorkshire Council, said:

“We have responded to the letter we received setting out our position. This asserts that the decision was lawfully made and we will contest any claim that is made.

“The section regarding the cost cap is a standard response, simply reserving our position in case a claim is issued as we need to protect taxpayers’ money at all times.”

Plans for motorway services between Ripon and Boroughbridge approved

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.

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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.