Following an appeal, Hallam Land Management has won outline consent for a motorway service station on 17ha (42 acres) to the west of Jctn 23A on the M1 at Diseworth, near Kegworth in Leicestershire.
The proposed scheme comprises a 60 bedroom hotel, filling station, amenity building, visitor centre and weighbridge. The site is owned by a local farmer.
North West Leicestershire Council refused the original application on the grounds that it saw no evidence of need for a service station. The council argued that to grant consent would override the council’s policy on protection of the countryside. However, the council had also recently granted East Midlands Airport consent to develop a smaller trunk road service station on a site north of Jctn 23A, which fronts the A42.
Hallam will submit a detailed application once parent company Henry Boot reaches a decision on whether to develop the scheme in house or farm it out to another developer. A decision will be announced before the marketing campaign for an operator starts in the Autumn.
EGi News 19/07/96
