I did tweet about this and post on local Facebook groups last week. Naturally, those of us who had opposed the Applegreen application on land near to Junction 4 of the M42 (off Gate Lane) are pleased with the outcome. I hope the petition had some part to play in this.
I do though feel for those who had campaigned against the Extra application near to Catherine de Barnes.
Whilst recognising the principle of a Motorway Service Station Area (MSA) ‘somewhere’ between junctions 3a and 6 on the M42, there were always obstacles to cross, not just highway safety but environment issues. I had instigated a petition objecting to the proposal next to my ward, Blythe, citing that 75% of all traffic movements to and from the MSA would have to negotiate the traffic island at M42/A34. This would bring severe congestion to both local traffic and impact further into Shirley. I am pleased the planning inspector refused the appeal at this location but disappointed he did not feel the traffic/highway impact warranted a refusal on that issue as well as the environmental impact.
I have attached the full decision notice, which covers both appeals below:
I do appreciate paragraph 99 of the decision notice in respect o the Appealgreen application (Appeal A), which mentions that even if the Extra proposal does not eventually get developed Appeal A ‘remains unacceptable on its own terms.
Readers may find a lot more history of both planning applications over the past few years via this link: https://cllrkenhawkins.co.uk/category/motorway-servuce-area/
Ken Hawkins 