PLANS to build a ‘controversial’ service station on the M3 near Basingstoke have been slammed by residents but the company behind the scheme has taken a step forward in its bid to gain planning permission.
More than 400 objections have been lodged against the development proposed by Moto Hospitality, the UK’s largest motorway services operator, for Junction 6.
The plans to build a service station near Basingstoke have been rumbling on since 2017 and have faced huge backlash from locals.
Despite the wave of criticism, Moto Hospitality is progressing with its proposal and has submitted an environmental statement to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.
In the statement, Moto acknowledges the project's potential environmental impact but assures the public that measures have been incorporated to mitigate the negative effects.
The site is located immediately south-east of Junction 6 of the M3 and comprises a 21.3-hectare agricultural field, if approved the service station will include an amenity building, a hotel, a drive-thru coffee shop, parking for various vehicles, a fuel station with a shop, and modifications to the M3 roundabout and slip roads for access.
The environmental statement has been lodged – more than six years after the initial application was submitted - after a number of consultees, including the borough council’s biodiversity team, pointed out that it was required.
If the application is approved, Moto Hospitality has stated that the service station will take 18 months to complete.
Of the 413 public comments on the application, 410 are objections.
Various parish councils have opposed the scheme, including Winslade and Tunworth, which border the proposed site.
In February, then MP for North East Hampshire and Conservative candidate for the constituency, Ranil Jayawardena, wrote to BDBC's chief executive asking the council to give ‘due consideration’ to 90 per cent of residents in the two hamlets who signed a petition by Mr Jayawardena against the scheme.
The plans to build a service station near Basingstoke have been mooted since 2017, when another operator, Applegreen, investigated the possibility of building a service area two miles away at Kempshott. Applegreen has not followed up on its proposal since.
Later, Moto Hospitality put forward its plans to build a 100-room hotel, drive-thru Costa Coffee, petrol station and shop near Black Dam roundabout, which was met with much criticism at the time.
The initial proposal caused Highways England to raise a number of concerns over Moto's suggestion that the carriageway of the roundabout and the M3 be widened.
The two parties have since worked together, and the renamed National Highways no longer has any objections to the updated plans.
However, following a further period of public consultation which ended in 2020, more than 350 people had objected to the proposal, forcing the operator to leave the planning application midway, but Moto Hospitality then returned with an updated plan in 2023.
A Moto spokesperson previously told the Gazette: “We are continuing to listen to feedback from the local community and council regarding our proposed new site on the M3, and will work closely with community groups and Basingstoke and Deane Council to ensure their feedback is considered within any amendments to our plans.”
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