Expansion planned for Tebay services

Westmorland Family has put in to increase the parking at Tebay Southbound motorway services area, growing its farm shop, dining, and restroom facility by 5,100 sq ft in the process.

The proposals will put the southbound version of Tebay more in line with its northbound cousin in terms of size and parking capacity to service the more than 23,600 vehicles that stop by each year.

Tebay sits north of Junction 38 on the M6. The southbound version sits on nine acres and currently holds 246 car parking spaces – 79 less than its northbound counterpart. It is also less than is required by the government’s strategic road network guidance.

The southbound edition of Tebay has only eight HGV spaces, but should have 24. When it comes to coaches, it has spaces for three when it should have five. There should also be 10 not six motorcycle spaces and two disabled caravan parking spaces rather than the current figure of zero.

The proposals seek to change that, providing the required sorts of spaces as well as increasing the number of electric vehicle charging bays to 58. These would be put in a separate part of the site, removing traffic gridlock caused by cars queueing to charge.

Designs by Pegasus Group show how increasing the size of the southbound facilities by 5,100 sq ft will enable more space for restrooms, seating areas, and a drive-thru. This would see the building grow to a gross external area of 28,800 sq ft.

In addition to Pegasus – which is also providing planning, heritage, and landscape visual impact services – the project team for the Tebay expansion includes landscape designer Layer.studio, ecologist Engain, engineer BWB, and Cumbria Tree Survey.

You can learn more about the application by searching reference number 2024/2184/FPA on Westmorland and Furness Council’s planning portal.

• READ MORE: Tebay is not the only Westmorland Family MSA – the group has plans to build a similar facility in Cheshire

The Tebay expansion plans come around the same time as National Highways’ announcement that it will be replacing a series of bridge deck structures between Junction 37 and Junction 38 of the M6.

The eight bridge decks go across the Lune Gorge and are reaching the end of their operational life, according to National Highways. They range from 150 feet long to 470 feet.

Kier is already booked as the main contractor for the bridge deck replacements, with RPS, AECOM, and Tony Gee on the project team. National Highways is aiming to start construction in 2027.