Moto’s plans for the first-ever motorway service area (MSA) on the M55 have been revised to make the site more than 40% bigger.
PWA Planning submitted proposals to Preston Council last year to see whether an environmental impact assessment (EIA) would be required for its application – it was decided that it wasn’t. It has now repeated the exercise with new proposals which see the site increase from 6.8 hectares to 9.6 hectares. PWA said the increase was due to drainage requirements, the avoidance of some ecological features and to allow access to the site.
Moto’s proposed new MSA would be built between Preston and Blackpool on the M55, just off the new junction 2 of the motorway, where the motorway meets the Preston Western Distributor Road aka Edith Rigby Way.
If it goes ahead, the Moto service area would be the first motorway outlet in the area. The nearest to the north is almost 15 miles away on M6 near Lancaster, to the south it is nearly 18 miles to the nearest services.
The new MSA would have a building with hot and cold food and drink options, indoor and outdoor seating, toilets and family/baby facilities and a combination of top-up grocery provisions and “roadside-appropriate” convenience retail offer.
The petrol filling station would have a smaller shop. There would also be a dedicated HGV fuel filling station.
There would be a parking area for 360-plus cars with additional dedicated spaces for caravans, motorcycles and coaches, as well as a separate HGV parking area.
In addition there would be a children’s play area and open space/grassland for dog walkers and visitors to stretch their legs.
Landscaped areas around the site’s perimeter would include opportunities for Biodiversity Net Gain, relocated ponds and flood risk alleviation.
