Service station and drive-thru coffee shop could be built on site of medieval village in Yorkshire

Plans lodged with East Riding Council would see a services with a cafe, drive-thru, electric vehicle charging points and visitor centre built on the site of the disused Kelleythorpe Farm.

Applicants Sunderlandwick Estates stated the development would see a redundant farmstead brought back into use while the design would try to retain some historic features.

But an archaeology assessment called for a survey at the site, which covers Kelleythorpe deserted medieval village, to find the extent of potential for more finds.

Plans stated the development, in Driffield Road (A614) west of Driffield Showground, would provide a range of services to motorists, particularly those travelling on long distance routes.

Documents stated ample available land would allow large numbers of vehicles to park up and use facilities such as the centre and coffee shop, especially if they are waiting for an electric car to charge.

The services would including six charging points, eight fuel pumps including one for HGVs, 14 parking spaces and potential to serve hydrogen powered vehicles at a later date.

But the site also lies within an area with a host of archaeological and historical features spanning from the Iron Age to the Second World War.

It lies on the same stretch of road east from the former RAF Driffield base which was home to bomber squadrons during the Second World War.

Canadian military personnel billeted at Sunderlandwick Hall accidentally set fire to the 18th-century house on VJ Day in 1945 while celebrating the end of the war, and it was destroyed. A new house was built on the site in the 1960s.

The site itself is occupied by buildings which once made up Kelleythorpe Farm, originally dating back to the 19th century, including a former shop.

The archaeological assessment warned that a distinctive historical feature would be lost if the buildings were demolished.

Beneath the site lies the remains of what was once a hamlet recorded in the Domesday Book.

The assessment stated: “It is likely that Kelleythorpe was nothing more than a hamlet.

“At the time of the Domesday Survey Kelleythorpe was recorded as being in the Hundred of Driffield, under the control of the King and Archbishop of York.

“No population was recorded although a mill was present.”

The assessment stated there was a chance that features of the village or deposits from it could still exist within the site.

The remains of training trenches used during the Second World War have also been found on the site, though the assessment stated they appeared to have been levelled.

The assessment recommended that a survey be carried out of the former farm buildings as well as a geophysical one of the site in general.

Plans stated some of the farm buildings would be retained and converted into offices of varying sizes while others would be demolished because of their low historical significance.

They stated: “The proposed re-development will see a redundant farmstead brought back to life with a mixed-use development bringing economic, social, environmental and ecological benefits.”