Plans for a major new motorway service area at the Catterick junction of the A1(M) looks set to be given the go-ahead next week.
Planning officers at Richmondshire District Council will recommend the scheme gets approval when the authority’s planning committee meets on Wednesday.
Roadchef has submitted a planning application to build the services on land east of junction 52 near Catterick Racecourse and Catterick Village.
The services would include shops, restaurants, a tourist information centre and 100-bedroom hotel.
There would also be a drive thru Costa and McDonald’s restaurants, as well as a filling station, parking and amenity lake with dog walking area.
A vehicle access for the proposed development would be created off the existing roundabout at Junction 52 of the A1(M).
A large parking area would provide spaces for cars, HGVs, coaches and caravans.
Electric vehicle charging points and a footpath and cycle link between the services and Catterick Village are also planned.
The company says there will be a £57 million initial investment which will contribute over £1 million per year to Richmondshire in business rates.
It adds that the development will create more than 300 permanent jobs, as well as numerous jobs during the construction phase.
A report to councillors on the application concludes: “This report has demonstrated that there is an identified need for a new MSA facility to serve road users of the A1(M) between Durham and the approved MSA services at the Vale of York.
“Case law has established that considerable weight can be given in such instances to meeting this need because of the safety of users of the strategic road network.”
Plans have also recently been submitted to upgrade the motorway services at Scotch Corner and Barton.
Owners Moto want to the two service areas to become an official motorway service area (MSA), with HGVs, caravans and cars stopping at Barton and cars, coaches and motorcycles at Scotch Corner.
Moto says the two sites have operated informally as a linked MSA for many decades, but Moto they now want to formalise the linked approach through improvements to the facilities and a signing agreement with Highways England.
Moto has objected to the application for new services at Catterick.
