A NEW service station could be built to provide a resting place for travellers on the A303 near Yeovil.
Plans have been submitted to build a new Trunk Road Service Area on land to the north of the A303 and west of Steart Hill.
The area would include a farm shop and restaurant/cafe, a hotel, an energy station with an electric vehicle hub and a petrol filling station, photovoltaic solar arrays, truck stop landscaping and other ancillary works.
The service station would take up three fields next to the A303.
Field one will have a service area with a petrol filling station, a farm Shop with a 74 space car park area and Electric Vehicle (EV) charging points. On the same site, a two-storey hotel with 60 bedrooms will be built.
The farm shop and resturant will focus on promoting and retailing locally sourced food and drink. It will be single-storey, designed in the style of a barn to reflect the largely rural location. With the restaurant looking onto a landscaped area with outdoor seating.
To provide energy for the EV chargers, field two will be a solar farm which would generate up to 2702kWp of energy via private wire for the A303 Services including EV charging points in the car and lorry parking areas. A Battery Storage compound would be located at the eastern edge of the solar farm.
The applicant Grassroots Planning says the new service station will not damage the landscape as the landscape around has already been developed with the Highways England A303 dualling scheme.
The application added: "This application requires an out-of-settlement location to provide a serviceable facility off the SRN and the land proposed made available due to the works associated with the adjacent A303 duelling project, provides a unique opportunity to deliver this.
"The proposals would therefore meet the primary function of a roadside facility as set by the DfT Circular being “to support the safety and welfare of road users. Roadside facilities should be sympathetic to the character of the site and its surrounding area, and create a safe, inclusive and accessible environment”.
"The provision of this valuable infrastructure in terms of a rapid EV charging hub and truck stop, which are underprovided in the area, should be considered
"Hopkins Estates are keen to deliver this exciting project to provide much needed local infrastructure and to deliver an attractive environment for people to stop and stay as they travel along the SRN. Having reviewed both National and Local Policy, it is concluded that the proposals accord with the Development Plan and the Framework, and that there are also other material considerations that should weigh, on balance, strongly in favour of approval."
The document has been submitted to Somerset Council, it will be reviewed by officers before a decision to approve or refuse the plans will be made.
Read and comment on the full application on the Somerset Council planning portal.
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