Luxury M56 motorway services in Cheshire set for green light despite objections

Plans for a new luxurious motorway service off the M56 in Cheshire[1] are set to be approved next week. The approval is expected to come despite many objections from local communities. The Westmorland family, which owns Tebay Services in Cumbria, has applied to build a Tatton Services site on greenbelt land between junctions 7 and 8 of the motorway.

Alongside a service station, the plans also include a petrol station, a farm shop and a 100-bedroom hotel. The plans have been recommended for approval by Cheshire East Council and will go before the council's strategic planning board next Wednesday (October 25), the Manchester Evening News reports[2]. However, a final decision would need to be referred to the secretary of state due to the scale of the plans.

READ: Countess of Chester Hospital announces opening date for new GBP110m women and children's building | The new development will replace the current women and children's building, which was built using crumbling concrete[3] READ: Demand on Chester food bank doubles in a year - and it's getting busier still | The Crossroads Community Hub has seen a steep rise in people seeking emergency food parcels during the cost of living crisis[4] The services group, which is a 80/20 partnership between the Westmorland Family, and Tatton Estate, started life with Tebay Services on the M6 in 1972.

It also operates Gloucester Services on the M5 and Cairn Lodge Services on the M74 in Scotland. Last month, plans for the M56 scheme - which is set to include 65 car parking spaces, 58 lorry spaces and additional spots for coaches - received the backing of the highways department, which ruled that the "traffic and transport impacts" could be "satisfactorily assimilated into the highway network". However, a number of objections were received[5] including from Bowdon Conservation Group, an organisation with more than 300 members.

The Conservation Group feared the plans would cause unjustifiable "harm" to the Green Belt and drive customers away from 'already struggling existing shopping areas' nearby.

Manchester Airport[6] also issued a partial opposition to aspects of the scheme which included open water due to the risk of attracting and supporting birds that are 'hazardous to aircraft'. This has now been revised. Tatton Services say the scheme will create 325 jobs and bring GBP9.2m gross value per annum to the 'regional economy'.

It added the plans would also help to 'close and reduce identified 'gaps'' on the motorway.

466 responses were received from the public during two hearings with around 55 per cent of responses being positive, 15 per cent neutral and 29 per cent negative. The planning application states: "Our vision is to build on the distinctive model that Westmorland operates, responding to the unique locality of East Cheshire to create a truly sustainable business which is ready to embrace a different future of food, buildings and travel.

"We want to build on what we do already. Gloucester Services, Tebay Services and Cairn Lodge Services were named the UK's three best MSAs in 2021's Which?

Survey. We are a beacon of quality in our industry and are known as a champion of our locality; we have a real passion for this approach and the impact it can have. "Our approach has been proven to have positive impact on the localities in which we operate.

We calculate that Tatton Services will bring significant economic and social benefits to its local area, in terms of employment, supply chain and for the wider community and visitor economy."

Cheshire East Council's strategic planning board will meet on October 25 to further discuss the plans.

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References

1. ^ Cheshire (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
2. ^ the Manchester Evening News reports (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
3. ^ Countess of Chester Hospital announces opening date for new GBP110m women and children's building (www.cheshire-live.co.uk)
4. ^ Demand on Chester food bank doubles in a year - and it's getting busier still (www.cheshire-live.co.uk)
5. ^ a number of objections were received (www.cheshire-live.co.uk)
6. ^ Manchester Airport (www.cheshire-live.co.uk)
7. ^ Sign up for CheshireLive email direct to your inbox here (www.cheshire-live.co.uk)