A three-week public consultation has opened on plans for a new motorway service area beside Junction 37 of the A1(M) at Doncaster Marr.
Welcome Break is proposing the development on land east of the junction, off Barnsley Road in Scawsby. Residents and other interested parties have until 11.59pm on Wednesday 7 October 2026 to comment before a planning application is prepared.
The company says the service area would provide parking, food and drink outlets, toilets, showers, fuel and electric-vehicle charging for motorists, lorry drivers and coach passengers.
What is proposed at Doncaster Marr
Plans published for consultation show a main amenity building set within a landscaped site, with shops, places to eat, indoor and outdoor seating, dog-walking and picnic areas and an outdoor gym.
Around 355 car parking spaces are proposed, together with parking for about 70 HGVs, 14 coaches, 10 caravans and 16 motorcycles. A separate drive-through coffee shop also forms part of the scheme.
The developer says 44 ultra-rapid charging spaces would be provided for cars and vans, with another 18 spaces designed so they could become charging points later. The plans also include drive-through charging for electric HGVs and conventional charging bays for longer rest stops.
Welcome Break describes the scheme as a proposed £50 million investment. It estimates that up to 150 people could work on construction at the busiest stage and that the completed site could create about 200 full-time equivalent jobs, as well as part-time roles.
These figures are the developer's projections and will be tested through the consultation and subsequent planning process.
How to take part in the consultation
The project team is holding a public event from 4pm to 8pm on Wednesday 23 September at Sprotbrough Church Hall, Main Street, Sprotbrough, Doncaster, DN5 7RH.
Plans and an online feedback form are available on the Welcome Break Doncaster consultation website. Comments can also be emailed to info@welcomebreakdoncaster.co.uk or submitted on a printed form available on request and at the event.
All responses must be received by 11.59pm on 7 October. Welcome Break says it will review the feedback before finalising any planning submission.
Planning application expected in 2027
A planning application is currently expected to be submitted to the City of Doncaster Council in early 2027. The developer's indicative timetable says construction could begin in 2028 if permission were granted later in 2027, with the service area opening in 2029.
No planning permission has been granted for the current proposal, and the timetable remains dependent on the consultation, the final application and the council's consideration of it.
A separate proposal for a motorway service area on land north-east of Junction 37 was refused by the council in 2017. An appeal relating to that earlier scheme was also recorded on the council's planning system. The present consultation concerns a new proposal and will require a fresh planning application.
A 2026 request for an environmental impact assessment screening opinion, reference 26/01202/SCRE, has already been recorded for a proposed motorway service station with new access, infrastructure and landscaping at Doncaster.
The consultation material says around half of the 11.1-hectare site would be used for landscaping and drainage, including woodland planting, wildflower grassland and ponds. Welcome Break says it expects the scheme to exceed the statutory 10% biodiversity net-gain requirement; that claim will need to be supported in the planning documents.
