Approval for Tatton Services, Bentley Crewe expansion

The motorway service station is now one step closer to being created between Junction 7 and Junction 8 of the M56, while the car manufacturer can rev up its plans to build a new paint shop and logistics centre at its Pyms Lane campus.

Cheshire East Council approved Westmorland Group’s Tatton Services and Bentley Motor’s expansion of its Crewe site at its planning meeting yesterday.

Tatton Services

Application number: 22/0872M

Westmorland Group, in partnership with Tatton Group, will create a motorway service area stretching 39 acres of Green Belt land between Junction 7 and Junction 8 of the M56.

The Glenn Howells Architects-designed Tatton Services will feature a 68,000 sq ft main amenity building, a 100-bedroom hotel, and a filling station.

There will also be parking provided for all vehicle categories, amounting to more than 800 spaces.

Westmorland, the operator behind the long-established Tebay and the more recent Gloucester Services, submitted the plans for the scheme last March.

Cheshire East Council approved the development despite two rounds of consultation throwing up 150 representations of objection to the plans.

Officers had highlighted that the project in legal terms represents inappropriate Green Belt development.

However, officers continued: “The design approach for the development to reflect a modern farmstead is a positive aspect of the proposal, and adequate open space is provided having regard to the location, type, and scale of development.”

Although approved locally, the application will have to be referred to the Secretary of State for sign-off due to its Green Belt location.

Pegasus Group is the planning consultant for the scheme. The project team also includes FWP, Planit, Ramboll, Ecology Solutions, Jensen Hughes, Lightpad, BWB, and Les Postawa.

Bentley Motors has occupied the site for more than 70 years. Credit: via planning documents

Bentley Motors

Application numbers: 23/2225N and 23/2349N

It was a double approval for Bentley Motors at yesterday’s meeting.

First up, the manufacturer was granted permission to build a 161,000 sq ft production and manufacturing building at its industrial campus off Pyms Lane, where the company has been based for more than 70 years.

The larger Crewe site hosts the full lifecycle of motor car production, including design, research and development, engineering, and manufacturing.

Architect Fletcher-Rae designed the approved scheme, which will see the removal of the car park next to the existing paint shop to make way for the new facility, as well as a four-storey office block.

The new paint shop will be linked to the current building via two link bridges.

Second, Bentley Motors received the green light demolish the temporary logistics centre at its Pyms Lane campus, to be replaced with a new, permanent facility.

Also designed by Fletcher Rae, the development will create a 145,000 sq ft integrated logistics centre in place of the current 86,000 sq ft building, which has a lifespan of only 10 years.

The project team for both developments consists of Brennan Consult, Hannan Associates, Abacus, DBX Acoustics, and Design Fire Consultants.