Gloucestershire Gateway services
Encyclopedia
The Gloucestershire Gateway Services is a pair of proposed motorway service area
Motorway service area
In the UK motorway service areas, also known as service stations, are places where drivers can leave a motorway to refuel, rest, or take refreshments. The vast majority of motorway services in the UK are owned by one of three companies: Moto, Welcome Break and RoadChef. Extra are also developing a...

s (MSA) serving both northbound and southbound carriageways of the M5
M5 motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...

 between junctions 11A and 12 near Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....

, England. Although planning permission has been granted, no date has been given for the start of construction.

History

In September 2009, independent motorway services operator, Westmorland Motorway Services Ltd., jointly with a local charitable trust, Gloucestershire Gateway Trust submitted plans for a services at Matson
Matson, Gloucester
- History :Unlike neighbouring villages, such as Brookthorpe and Upton St Leonards, Matson is not mentioned in the Domesday Book. It appears to have been a part of Kings Barton at the time of the survey...

 for public consultation. The plans are for a business operated in a similar manner to the Tebay services on the M6
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...

 in Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...

, with much of the food and produce on sale being sourced from local suppliers.

Government MSA Strategy

Arguments both in support and opposition of the scheme have been made, citing Highways Agency
Highways Agency
The Highways Agency is an executive agency, part of the Department for Transport in England. It has responsibility for managing the core road network in England...

 and Department for Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...

 guidance.

A 2008 DfT circular advises a maximum 28 miles (45.1 km) mile or 30 minute drive time, whichever lesser, gap between services on the motorway network.
In early 2009, the Highways Agency conducted a review of Motorway services in England, guided by this circular, identifying gaps in provision of core motorway service areas. A shortcoming of provision for traffic traversing the Welsh-English border between the M50
M50 motorway (Great Britain)
The M50 is a motorway in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire, England. It is long and is sometimes referred to as the Ross Spur. It is the only motorway-class road in Herefordshire.-Route:...

 terminus and Michaelwood Services
Michaelwood services
Michaelwood services is a motorway service station between junctions 13 and 14 of the M5 motorway north of Bristol, located close to the towns of Wotton-under-Edge and Dursley in Gloucestershire....

 was identified.

A distance of 40 miles (64.4 km) or greater would be a gap between MSAs above which the Highways Agency would consider informing a local authority of the potential need for a new MSA to be included in the Local Development Framework.

The 2008 circular also advises that any development be limited to mitigate the impact on the environment particularly to National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The proposed site at Ongers Farm is on the boundary of the Cotswolds
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...

 Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...

 (AONB).

Opposition

There has been vocal opposition to the proposal from groups in the local area, including the Campaign Against Motorway Service Area (CAMSA), with objections mainly based on aesthetic damage to the surrounding countryside (with particular reference to the scheme's proximity to the Cotswolds AONB), and a lack of need.

Planning decision

A planning application was submitted to the local Planning Authority, Stroud District Council
Stroud (district)
Stroud is a local government district in Gloucestershire, England. It is named after its largest town, Stroud, and has its administrative headquarters in Ebley Mill, in the Ebley area on the outskirts of the town.thumb |left |Ebley Mill...

 in December 2009.
The application was approved in August 2010, with councillors on the planning committee voting six to four in favour of the scheme.

The District Council was informed at the end of February 2011 that Roadchef
RoadChef
Roadchef is a company which operates twenty motorway service areas in the UK. Behind Moto and Welcome Break, it is the third largest motorway service area operator .-History:...

 and Welcome Break
Welcome Break
Welcome Break is a company which operates thirty-five motorway service stations in the UK. It is the second largest motorway service area operator behind Moto.-History:...

 (the operators of Strensham and Michaelwood service stations) have applied to the High Court for a judicial review of the Council’s decision to grant planning permission for the Gloucestershire Gateway motorway service area on the M5. Joined in the action are CAMSA and the Parish Councils of Brookthorpe with Whaddon and Harescombe
Harescombe
Harescombe is a small village in Gloucestershire, England. It is situated five miles south of Gloucester. It is thought the name of the village is derived from a combination of the Celtic term "cwm" and the Saxon term "here" , thus the full meaning of "Harescombe" would be "the Army's Valley".The...

.
Roadchef and Welcome Break allege that the council failed to take full account of Policy NE8 regarding landscape issues and the AONB, that the legal agreement requiring the MSA to source a percent of its goods locally is unlawful, and that a number of conditions are not tight enough. A full version of the “grounds for application” together with SDC initial response can be found here.

External links

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