Controversial plans for a motorway services off the A1(M) in North Yorkshire appear set to be given the go-ahead next week.
North Yorkshire Council planning officers said the Vale of York services, near Boroughbridge, should be approved after more than 20 years of legal wrangles.
Many parish councils in the area have objected to the proposal for the Welcome Break site, saying plans go far beyond what was initially approved.
But planners have rejected that and said a new environmental impact assessment was unnecessary and the development was broadly consistent with existing permissions.
Outline plans granted in 2021 agreed space for 364 cars, 90 HGVs, 18 coaches, caravans and motorcycles, plus a drive-thru coffee shop and fuel stations.
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), the scheme now has a higher motorway bridge, larger embankments, expanded landscaping and additional drainage lagoons east of the A1(M).
The parish councils of Kirby Hill and Marton-le-Moor, Langthorpe, Skelton-cum-Newby, Roecliffe and Westwick, and Boroughbridge Town Council all objected saying the scheme had become “more visually intrusive” and said the changes were materially increasing the scale and impact of the development.
But the council’s planning officers rejected claims about the ommission of green roofs and said although the bridge and eastern roundabout were higher than originally planned, the increase was necessary and remained within the approved height parameters.
