Amendments have been made to plans for a controversial £50m motorway services area (MSA) on land designated as green belt.
Roadchef has submitted alterations to North Yorkshire Council for its proposals for an area beside the A1(M) at the A63 Selby Fork.
The company was given planning consent by the Secretary of State in June 2024 after councillors said the MSA’s provision of parking for HGVs constituted the “very special circumstances” needed to build in the protected green belt.
In the amended plans, the company has increased the length of the HGV and coach bays and reduced the footprint of the MSA buildings.
It has also increased the EV charging capabilities and added more solar panels.
The company said that although the buildings would be smaller, the key elements would remain with the same number of parking spaces, and the same shops and food outlets.
A request has been made to amend the original plans with a Section 73 application to the council.
Roisin Morris, property development director at Roadchef, said the original application was first submitted in 2019 and many things had changed in the intervening years.
She added: “HGV lorries have gotten bigger, and companies are more aware of the carbon impact of their buildings and customer need for EV charging facilities.
“We are hopeful that North Yorkshire Council will quickly approve our application and recognise that the proposed amendments are both logical and necessary.
“The revised scheme retains all components of the permitted development while reducing the overall footprint and delivering a modernised, more efficient HGV parking facility.”
The revised plans also include changes to the internal layout of the building, a reconfiguration of the car park, a revised HGV service yard, the introduction of a new HGV corral area and additional solar panels.
Architects say the revised building design will draw inspiration from local architectural heritage such as Selby Abbey and All Saints Church, in Sherburn-in-Elmet.
In 2024, councillors urged the then Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove, to approve the scheme despite council officers recommending it should be rejected.
Officers said at the time that the MSA was indisputably “inappropriate development in the green belt” and the proposal conflicted with safeguarding the countryside from encroachment.
The plans were also opposed by local parish councils due to being in the green belt and concerns.
They also said it would increase the chances of nearby Sherburn-in-Elmet becoming “a suburb of Leeds”.
But councillors argued that the green belt had already been encroached upon, through the development of the A1 into a motorway, so further development to support the road was justified.
Roadchef says the development will create 300 jobs.
