PLANS for a new service station on the A64 near York have been rejected.

Members of City of York Council’s planning committee agreed with officers that the proposed development on land near the Hopgrove roundabout was inappropriate for the green belt and would harm the amenity of people living nearby.

Cllr Paul Doughty said it was an ‘horrific location’ for such a wide-scale development, and Cllr Fiona Derbyshire said there was no evidence of very special circumstances to justify such development in the Green Belt.

Eamonn Keogh, of O’Neill Associates, speaking on behalf of local residents, said they were concerned about the impact on their amenity, with the rural environment disrupted by lighting, noise, buildings and traffic associated with a 24-hour service area.

Proposals for a service station featuring a petrol station, hotel and restaurant/cafe have been around for three years.

An application was first submitted in 2014 but then withdrawn after criticisms by planning officers. Agents England and Lyle, who were behind the application by Enita Europe, said the withdrawal was to allow more time to address the concerns raised and work on a revised application.

In its resubmitted application earlier this year, it said a new service station was needed on that stretch of the A64, which is said was “a key transport route in the North of England”.

It said the scheme would benefit the local transport infrastructure and was something that was permitted within the Green Belt, and said there was currently a 40-mile gap between service stations on the A64.