KH3.1 Photo: A1(M) southbound exit to Leeming Bar Services and signage to Wetherby MSA Appeal by Applegreen plc for a Proposed Motorway Service Area on the A1(M) at Kirby Hill Kirby Hill RAMS Objection Written Statement of Dr. Andrew Ramsden on Need & the Effect on Existing MSAs 5th May 2020 PLANNING INSPECTORATE REFERENCE: APP/E2734/W/20/3245778 Written Statement of Dr Andrew Ramsden on Need & the Effect on other MSAs KH3.1 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 I am Dr Andrew Ramsden. I have been a resident of Kirby Hill for 23 years. During that time, Three generations of my family have been involved with, and supported, Kirby Hill RAMS’ campaigns. The proposed Kirby Hill MSA site is approximately 750m from my home. 1.2 As a founder member of Kirby Hill RAMS, I submitted proofs of evidence and appeared as a witness on behalf of the local community at the 2003 and the 2010/11 MSA Public Inquiries. 1.3 While I have no professional qualifications in the field of planning I am qualified to provide the Inspector and the Secretary of State with a common-sense layman’s approach to the problem. As a member of the local community at Kirby Hill for many years and a user of the local road network on a daily basis, I am well placed to provide an informed, first-hand, local perspective on the issues under consideration regarding the need for further MSA provision. 1.4 I object to the proposed MSA. 1.5 In this proof, I set out my evidence that the Appeal should be dismissed because, overall, there is no need for the proposed MSA and it is associated with increased harm and reduced benefits, when compared with previous MSA proposals at this site that have been rejected. Page 2 of 11 Written Statement of Dr Andrew Ramsden on Need & the Effect on other MSAs KH3.1 2. BACKGROUND TO THE CURRENT INQUIRY 2.1 At Inquiries in 1994, 1997 and 2003, Planning Inspectors assessed the need for MSA provision over roughly 70 miles of the strategic road network. The Inspectors’ reports of the 1997 and 2003 Public Inquiries concluded that the compelling need for further MSA provision would best be met by a single, centrally located site. 2.2 In 2003, the Inspector specifically rejected a two-site option involving Kirby Hill, concluding that a single new MSA at Wetherby would meet the need over this 70 mile stretch. 2.3 Kirby Hill RAMS believe that the seemingly endless applications to build an MSA at the proposed site are a direct result of the Government’s decision in 1992 to deregulate MSA development, resulting in speculative developers attempting to fit an MSA into the land they have been able to find, with little regard to its true suitability with regard to need or spacing. This is certainly the case with the Kirby Hill site, where permission has been repeatedly refused and yet another attempt is being made by the Appellant, despite the site’s obvious unsuitability. 2.4 At the 2012 Inquiry, a proposed MSA at Kirby Hill was again refused and permission was granted for a second MSA at Leeming Bar, thereby providing twice the MSA provision that the Secretary of State had concluded in 2005 was needed. 2.5 Now, the Appellant is claiming that a third MSA is required to meet the need, when in 2005 it was deemed that one MSA would suffice. The Appellant must therefore be expected to justify the need for three times the MSA provision than the Secretary of State said was required in 2005, just 15 years ago. Kirby Hill RAMS submit that such a need simply does not exist. 3. ROAD IMPROVEMENTS SINCE THE 2003 INQUIRY 3.1 Since the 2003 Inquiry, the stretch of the A1(M) under consideration has undergone a number of major improvements. It was envisaged at earlier Inquiries that the upgrading of the A1 would alter the need for MSA provision, in that the upgraded motorway would operate more smoothly and benefit from quicker journey times and easier driving conditions, leading to a safer and more Page 3 of 11 Written Statement of Dr Andrew Ramsden on Need & the Effect on other MSAs KH3.1 efficient road. The approximate cost of these upgrades totalled more than £840 million. The overall effect of these improvements has been to increase safety, reduce journey times and therefore reduce the need for an MSA. The Bramham to Wetherby A1M upgrade - completed in August 2009 3.2 In November 2015, Highways England published ‘The Post-Opening Project Evaluation A1(M) Bramham to Wetherby Five Years After Opening Study’ [CD8.42]. The report’s key findings that are relevant to this Inquiry, shown on Page 5, are that: a) Traffic flows on the A1(M) have decreased since opening (due to re-assignment of traffic onto the Local Access Road). b) The observed traffic flows on the A1 are lower than forecast. c) A1(M) traffic is experiencing more reliable journey times and journey times have reduced slightly. d) The number of collisions has reduced since the scheme opened, but this saving is lower than forecast. The Dishforth to Leeming A1M upgrade – completed in March 2012. 3.3 In July 2015, Highways England published ‘Post-Opening Project Evaluation - A1 Dishforth to Leeming One Year After Opening Study’ [CD8.43]. The report’s key findings that are relevant to this Inquiry, shown on page 3, are that: a) Traffic flows on the A1 have decreased since the scheme opened and are lower than forecast. This reduction is in line with a nationwide reduction in traffic coinciding with the economic downturn. b) A1(M) traffic is experiencing more reliable journeys together with time savings in the region of 2 to 3 minutes. c) The numbers of collisions on the A1(M) have reduced since the scheme opened and the impacts are better than forecast. Page 4 of 11 Written Statement of Dr Andrew Ramsden on Need & the Effect on other MSAs KH3.1 d) Monetary benefits are lower than expected, due to the lower than forecast traffic volumes. 3.4 With regard to the safety benefits of the upgrade project, the same report states that: ‘The number of serious collisions has fallen by a slightly greater amount than the average of all collisions, with a 74% reduction.’ 3.5 These findings relate to the very section of the A1(M) where this MSA is now being so aggressively sought. The reports from Highways England, produced less than 5 years ago, clearly confirms a reduced need at Kirby Hill compared to when the Secretary of State issued his 2012 decision. The Leeming to Barton A1M upgrade - completed in 2018. 3.6 This new stretch of motorway was opened in March 2018 and I have been unable to find any ’Post- Opening Project Evaluation’ produced to date. However, Highways England’s ‘A1 Leeming to Barton Improvement Scheme’ document [CD8.44], published when the scheme opened in 2018, includes the following statements: a) ‘The A1 Leeming to Barton scheme has taken 4 years to construct and brings big benefits to the region - improving safety, relieving congestion, and supporting economic growth.’ b) ‘replacing the existing dual carriageway with a new 3-lane motorway, c) ‘Before this major upgrade, there were many side road junctions, farms and field accesses joining onto this stretch of the A1.’ d) ‘Through our scheme we’ve made access to the motorway much safer via a new junction at Catterick and an improved junction at Scotch Corner.’ e) ‘The scheme is predicted to save around 20 lives and prevent around 450 accidents over a 60 year period’ 3.7 Therefore this motorway upgrade can be expected to have the same beneficial results as the others and contribute to the overall reduction in need. 3.8 Highways England’s major improvements to this stretch of the A1/A1M over the last eleven years have negated the need for any further MSA provision. Page 5 of 11 Written Statement of Dr Andrew Ramsden on Need & the Effect on other MSAs KH3.1 4. NEED FOR ANOTHER MSA The Secretary of State’s 2012 decision letter 4.1 The Secretary of State made clear in his 2012 Decision Letter that he considered a need existed for just one new MSA on the A1(M) between Wetherby and Barton. None of the parties disagreed with this position at the Inquiry, nor subsequently at the High Court. In the 8 years since then, there has been no increase in need that would justify granting planning permission for another MSA. In fact, if anything, since 2012 the need for MSAs on this part of the road network has decreased. Current Traffic Volumes 4.2 CD8.43 states that ‘the A1(M) at this location carried between 48,400 and 49,800 vehicles on an average weekday’. In comparison, when looking at average flow rates for motorways in general, the RAC Foundation says ‘Motorways continue to have the highest average traffic flow in 2018 with 81.7 thousand vehicles for each mile of motorway per day.’ [racfoundation.org] 4.3 DfT Statistics - Table TRA0105 shows that there has only been an 8.7% increase in traffic on the major road network over the Yorkshire and the Humber region between 2008 and 2018. 4.4 DfT Statistics - Table TRA0303 shows that over the entire length of the A1M, there has only been a 13% increase in daily vehicle flows since the 2003 Inquiry. It also shows that the A1M carries the fifth least number of daily vehicles of the 26 major sections of the motorway network listed.