PLANS for a ‘Tebay-style’ motorway service station to built on green belt land near the M56 look to be hanging in the balance.

Cheshire East Council’s planning committee approved the proposal for the service area, similar to the revered Tebay stopping point on the M6 in Cumbria, in October last year despite 150 objections from local residents and groups.

The site, between junctions 7 and 8 of the M56 next to Tatton Park, is on the border between Cheshire East and Trafford, whose planning committee had already voiced its disapproval of the scheme.

Cheshire East’s decision angered campaigners who say they have not given up hope for preventing the scheme from going ahead.

Planning law stipulates that because the development is on green belt land, the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities (DLUHC), Michael Gove, will get the final say on whether it is approved.

The ‘informal’ campaign group have written to Mr Gove appealing to him to ‘call in’ the decision, but he is yet to adjudicate on whether the site is a sufficient ‘special circumstance’ to waive the land’s green belt status.

One of the most vocal campaigners, Bill Dixon, has now repeated his plea to Mr Gove to intervene ‘as quickly as possible’.

And he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that if Mr Gove will not call in the planning application for his own consideration, residents will fundraise to get legal representation for a judicial review.

Mr Dixon’s letter to Mr Gove argues the development breaches Government policy, the Cheshire East planning committee members were ‘not given full transparency’ of the evidence, and Cheshire East ‘did not give full and fair consideration of the objections to the application’.

“The consequence of this is an unnecessary and damaging development with the loss of valuable green belt and considerable safety, congestion and local economic impact,” he said.

One of the thrusts of objectors’ argument is that the service station will be a ‘destination attraction’ and not a stopping point for motorists to rest – thus damaging businesses in nearby communities.

His letter quotes Government policy which states: “Roadside facilities should be well-designed to serve passing traffic and not be destinations in their own right.”

Mr Dixon goes on: “This application is a joint venture which will provide a Westmorland Farm Shop, so it is clearly – and unashamedly promoted as – a ‘destination in its own right’.”

He also argues the analysis of the need for a service station – known as ‘gap analysis’ – used to justify the planning application was flawed when it was presented to the Cheshire East planning committee.

Government guidelines suggest there should be a service station approximately for every 28 miles of motorway.

“The most serious flaw was the deliberate exclusion of the new motorway service area, already with full planning approval, by Extra at junction 11 of the M62 in Warrington,” he writes.

“This stretch of motorway runs east-west and connects areas west of Manchester directly to the M60 circular motorway and is thus an essential part of the strategic plan.

“Bluntly, the applicant is claiming their scheme closes gaps that are already being resolved and conveniently ignores this.

“Additionally, there is the strange exclusion of services for the M6 and M56 within seven miles of the proposed development – the Poplar 2000 Truck Stop [‘Lymm Truck Stop’].

“Technically this is not yet a motorway service area, but it is nonetheless used by cars as well as commercial vehicles and the operator currently has plans – which I understand has Highways Agency consent – to upgrade the facility to a full service area.”

Mr Dixon told the LDRS: “We are not giving up our fight. This service station is wrong and, in my view, underlines the unfairness of the planning system.”

The bid to build ‘Tatton Services’, with an emphasis on farm produce and locally produced goodies like home-produced pies, has been hatched by the family-owned Westmorland group alongside Tatton Park-based businessman Henry Brooks under the guise of Tatton Services Limited.

A spokesperson for the DLUHC said that on November 16, 2023, a ‘holding direction’ was issued on behalf of Mr Gove preventing Cheshire East Council from granting planning permission for the application following receipt of requests to call it in.

“The application is being assessed against published policy on calling in applications, and a decision will be issued in due course,” they said.

“Policy has advised against committing to a timetable for a decision. Controversial applications are often reviewed and amended, so a five-month wait is not an unusual timeframe.”