On the right road! Plans submitted for £50m motorway services scheme in Leeds

As previously reported by the Yorkshire Evening Post, a firm called Extra MSA Group wants to build Leeds Skelton Lake Services at junction 45 of the M1.

And now the company has submitted an application for planning permission for the project to Leeds City Council.

Andrew Long, chief executive officer of Extra MSA Group, said: “We have meaningfully engaged with the communities of east Leeds to obtain their opinions and we are pleased with the positive support received.”

Mr Long added: “The recent submission of the planning application is the next step in delivering this £50m investment into east Leeds, addressing road safety deficiencies on this section of the motorway network, creating new jobs for local people, together with a range of significant economic, social and environmental benefits.”

Leeds Skelton Lake Services would boast a timber-framed food court-style building as well as a hotel, business centre and filling station.

Other plans include a visitor centre, community space and a viewing deck over Skelton Lake.

Improvements to walking routes would also see the development forming part of a green corridor linking Temple Newsam and Rothwell Country Park.

If it gets the green light, the scheme is expected to create 300 full-time equivalent jobs plus 400 construction jobs.

Discussions are already under way with employment experts to ensure recruitment for the positions is focused on the local area.

An apprenticeship link-up with schools and colleges is also in the pipeline.

More than 75 per cent of east Leeds residents who took part in a public consultation on the scheme said they supported it.