This is the first look at plans to revamp the popular Tebay Services.
The motorway service station opened in 1972 by the Dunning family when the M6 was built through their farm in Orton.
Westmorland Family, which runs Tebay Services, has now submitted building plans for a revamp.
It said: “The new plans preserve the features and ethos of the original buildings and landscapes, but update the buildings with a timeless contemporary feel, using natural materials that reflect their surroundings.”
Tebay Services has two motorway service areas located on the north and southbound carriageways of the M6.
After incremental developments over the last 50 years, a more comprehensive redevelopment is now proposed, which also includes a proposal for a solar farm to increase capacity to serve the growing number of electric car users.
James Errington, buildings and design director of Westmorland Family, said: “We recognise our position in the industry as leaders for change and our applications allow for significant improvements in the energy efficiency of our buildings and enhanced external areas that have been designed with climate and biodiversity at the core of our design principles.
“The proposal for onsite energy generation allows us to reduce our carbon footprint as well as reducing the carbon footprint of our customers who charge their electric vehicles using our ultra-fast chargers. We see this as a positive step towards the Government’s aim of working towards net zero.”
“We take a great deal of care in developing our plans for our motorway service areas, ensuring that our plans are sustainable and sympathetic to our landscapes and surroundings, using local skills and expertise as well as materials local to the area, where feasible.
“The refreshed vision for Tebay looks forward to the future while keeping the charm and ethos of the original buildings so many of our loyal customers have grown to love as much as we do.
The proposals at Tebay consist of three projects, all of which will be designed to be implemented independently:
- The northbound proposals include the redevelopment of the car park, providing segregated parking areas and increased parking numbers and the redevelopment and expansion of the facilities building and the provision of a drive-through at the existing petrol filling station, as well as additional landscaping to soften the areas of hard standing.
- The southbound proposals include the redevelopment and expansion of the car park, the expansion of the facilities building and the provision of a drive-through facility at the existing petrol filling station, as well as additional landscaping to soften areas of hard standing.
- Solar installation – Due to the lack of available energy to the services, a photovoltaic solar installation on two field parcels to meet the increasing need for energy to serve up to 18 electric chargers across the services.
Westmorland Family said there was a growing need to provide additional EV charging facilities. Tebay is at maximum electrical capacity with no additional capacity currently available in the immediate term to increase its energy supply. Due to increasing demand for EV charging provision, alternative energy sources such as solar energy are proposed to meet this demand.