Campaigners fighting plans for a motorway service area near Boroughbridge have taken the first formal step towards challenging North Yorkshire Council’s decision in the High Court.
Public and environmental law firm Leigh Day, acting for Kirby Hill Residents Against Motorway Services (RAMS), has served the council with a pre-action protocol letter ahead of a planned judicial review.
The action challenges the council’s decision on July 21 to approve the reserved matters application for Welcome Break’s proposed Vale of York motorway service area (MSA) at Kirby Hill, near Boroughbridge.
RAMS says it has taken specialist legal advice and claims there were errors in the way environmental impacts were considered before permission was granted.
The group alleges the council applied the wrong legal test when deciding a further environmental impact assessment was unnecessary.
It also claims the authority failed to properly consider whether the environmental information available remained sufficient to assess the likely significant effects of the detailed development.
A third concern centres on the alleged failure to take nearby proposed major developments into account when considering the potential cumulative environmental impact.
RAMS says this is particularly important given the scale of development proposed around the small rural community.
Gareth Owens, chair of RAMS, said: “The planning committee’s vote on July 21 was not the end of this matter.
“We have always said that an urbanising development of this scale, in this sensitive rural location, must be subject to proper environmental scrutiny and be determined in accordance with the law.
“Our concern is not simply that we disagree with the council’s conclusions. We contend that there were fundamental legal errors in the process by which those conclusions were reached.”
The pre-action protocol process gives the council an opportunity to respond to the claims and reconsider its decision before any High Court proceedings are issued.
Rowan Smith, solicitor at Leigh Day, said campaigners argued there were “clear errors of law” relating to the environmental impact assessment of the scheme.
RAMS has opposed proposals for motorway services at Kirby Hill for around three decades and has launched a crowdfunding campaign to pay for its latest legal action.
Mr Owens said the group was prepared to take the next step if its concerns were not resolved.
If necessary, RAMS intends to apply to the High Court for permission for a full judicial review of the council’s decision.
North Yorkshire Council has been approached for comment.
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