MSA firm Moto has hit back at claims it is “misusing” the planning system, after the firm withdrew one planning application for a new motorway services on the M3 in Hampshire, and submitted another in its place.
The firm applied a full planning application in 2017 for a new MSA by J6 of the motorway. This proposal was mired in controversy, with significant changes being made to the initial proposals, and over 400 members of the public objecting to the plans.
Moto withdrew this full planning application in October 2025, having in March of the same year filed permission for outline planning for an MSA on the same land.
Councillor John Raymond from Winslade Parish Council told the Basingstoke Gazette he believed Moto’s decision to withdraw the full application and submit an outline one may amount to the firm “misusing” the planning process; he explained:
“An outline application with most details unspecified is more difficult to target with objections, and we assume more difficult for [council] planners to recommend for refusal.”
He added: “If this vague outline application is approved, it seems likely Moto will be able to bend any planning conditions that may be imposed. It will be difficult to control the development as it proceeds to be built given the lack of detail that would have been provided at the approval stage.”
Listed concerns for the new MSA include the presence of Fleet Services just 10 miles north on the M3, and the proposed site being on top of a chalk aquifer, a vita water store for the region.
A spokesperson from Moto responded to the paper, saying the MSA would “address a clearly identified need on this section of the motorway”, and that the local council had previously “acknowledged the shortage of HGV parking” in the area, something that would be alleviated by the new services.
The firm also highlighted the £50m scheme would create around 250 jobs, and that it withdrew its earlier application “following extensive discussions with the council”. Moto added that its new application “responds” to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s comments about its previous application, and also “aligns with updated government policy on MSAs, and provides for enhanced facilities for lorry drivers, alongside EV charging for all vehicle types”.
Moto hit back at claims it was misusing the planning process, describing the submission of an outline application as “a well-established and legitimate part of the planning process” that “allows the principle of development and key parameters to be considered upfront, with detailed design and operational matters subject to further approval through reserved matters and planning conditions.”
The company added that this approach “does not reduce planning scrutiny or local authority control as all stages of the planning application must be determined by the council”.
