Top 50 Indie and truck stop operator Exelby Services has been given the official go-ahead for a new £5m state-of-the-art site at Leeming Bar in North Yorkshire. Local authority planning approval was granted back in August 2010 but following the upgrade of the A1 to motorway status the plans were included in the lengthy planning inquiry into the location for a new motorway service area between Wetherby and Scotch Corner.

Michael Exelby, chief executive of Exelby Services, said: "This is great news after such a long delay and construction will start in spring 2013. I am particularly pleased the Secretary of State acknowledged our site would meet the specialist needs of HGVs and their drivers including secure parking facilities, as up to 255 lorry parking spaces have been lost due to the A1(M) upgrade. I expect the site which will also create 20 new jobs to be operational by next autumn."

Exelby Services submitted plans to move from its current site at nearby Londonderry as the A1 upgrade has meant trucks currently have to travel down the A1(M) service road to reach it. The new truck stop will be adjacent to both the A1 and the Leeming Bar Industrial Estate. The firm, which has a turnover of nearly £30m, also owns sites on the M6, the M62 and the A19.