Published: September 8, 2015
M5 Sedgemoor Services near Burnham-On-Sea unveils expansion plan
A motorway service station near Burnham-On-Sea has unveiled proposals to expand after seeing a surge in the number of visitors.
Sedgemoor Services on the southbound M5 between Burnham-On-Sea and Weston wants to introduce more space for shops and restaurant facilities which could also create new jobs.
Owner Roadchef Motorways Ltd has this week applied for full planning permission to proceed with the extension and refurbishment of its existing main building alongside associated work, including the realignment of car parking spaces, changes to pedestrian areas, and a new internal servicing road.
The firm says: “The facility opened in 1986 and whilst it has been subject to a number of relatively minor extensions over the years, it appears largely as it did some 30 years ago.”
“In contrast to these limited improvements, Department for Transport traffic count data for the stretch of the M5 closest to the service area shows that the annual average daily flow of all vehicles has increased by some 12,700 per day or 25% in the 14 years between 2000 and 2014.”
“This represents clear evidence that whilst daily consumer demand has increased dramatically the quantitative offer of the motorway service area’s amenity building has remained largely the same.”
It adds: “Encouraging drivers to take regular breaks is the Government’s primary objective for motorway service areas, but if a facility doesn’t meet modern consumer expectations they are unlikely to stop. This increases the potential risk for accidents to take place on the network. There is in principle therefore both a commercial and a wider public safety justification for the improvements proposed.”
The plans will see the introduction of a single-storey extension to the existing main building which will total some 1,437sqm.
The extension of floorspace will allow a combination of Class A1 (retail) and Class A3 (restaurant) uses.
The plans will also see a new pedestrian entrance as part of the extended floorspace facing north-west, plus the re-alignment of existing car parking spaces and the internal vehicle access route immediately north of the main building’s customer entrance.
Comments are being welcomed by Sedgemoor District Council on the application – which has reference number 24/15/00027 – until the deadline of October 6th.
