£40m Motorway Service Area plans put forward

MOTORWAY services developer and operator, Extra MSA Group, has submitted a planning application for a new £40m Motorway Services Area (MSA) near Sheffield.

The project, at Junction 35 of the M1, represents a significant capital investment into the Sheffield City Region from the national operator, with construction spend estimated at circa £36m and assurances that Sheffield City Region and local Yorkshire firms will have the first tender opportunities.

In addition to around 400 construction jobs, Extra’s MSAs also typically employ between 250-300 full-time equivalent staff including part-time opportunities and these retail, catering and hotel positions will also be promoted locally.

The planning submission to Sheffield City Council follows months of intensive research from Extra’s broad range of expert consultants and planning teams who identified a significant need for a new MSA on the busy Sheffield area of the M1 – primarily based on the Government’s advice relating to maximum drive times.

Government policy and highway safety considerations mean that Junction 35 is the only commercially viable and deliverable location for this required MSA and of the three possible sites at the junction, impact assessments have determined that the circa 27 acre site to the south west quadrant is the most appropriate.

Extra’s findings, which incorporate feedback from their extensive public consultations towards the end of last year, have been compiled and submitted to Sheffield City Council. The application includes an amenity building with approximately 33,000 sq ft of Food Court, ancillary retail and other customer facilities in addition to a 16 filling positions on the main forecourt and four filling positions on the HGV forecourt with forecourt shop, 639 parking spaces for cars, HGV’s, coaches, caravans and motorcycles and an 80-bedroom hotel. The scheme incorporates structured and natural landscaping, outdoor picnic space and a dog walking area as well as the access and internal roads.

The proposals also include the creation of a new 39 acre woodland with 60,000 new trees which will be open to the public for recreational use. Additionally, 172 acres of privately owned woodland will be opened to the public for community use and a Trust – Chapeltown Community Woodlands Trust – will be established to manage and maintain more than 210 acres of woodlands for conservation and recreation. Footpaths will be created through the woods, and educational links developed with local schools.   The Trust will be provided with long-term funding by Extra and local groups will be invited to join the Trust Management Board.

Andrew Long, chief executive officer of Extra, said: “Having established a clear requirement for a new MSA at Junction 35 of the M1, we are confident that our proposals can facilitate another flagship, job creating MSA that will significantly enhance the local economy. Our seven nationwide MSAs all make major contributions to their localities and have been sensitively designed to work with the surroundings and this latest project will be no exception.

“We are committed to ensuring that the first opportunities for construction related jobs, and subsequent full and part time positions after completion, will be offered to people within the region. The nationally branded main tenant operators that typically operate from our MSAs all share a strong track record for staff training and development programmes, which will deliver superb opportunities to the local job market.”

Sue Manns, director of Pegasus Group, which prepared the application for Extra, added: “An exhaustive amount of research, analysis and impact assessments have to be undertaken to arrive at the planning submission stage and our extensive work has identified that the proposed site is the only viable option for the creation of the new MSA, for which a clear need has been determined. The designs demonstrate the level of attention that has been paid to ensuring that the MSA blends as seamlessly into its surroundings as possible and reflects the high level of commitment by Extra to creating a development of excellence that will positively contribute to the local economy as well as ensuring the safety of drivers on this popular stretch of motorway.”