In late 2019, construction company Metrowest announced plans to build a 25,000 square-metre service centre, including truck stop facilities, and fast-food outlets, on the corner of the Western Highway and One Tree Road, roughly 10 kilometres out of Horsham.

The land is currently a farmer's paddock and recently has been the site of protests by neighbouring residents over perceived safety, fire and farming hazards associated with the proposed service centre.

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Justin Brilliant, who farms near the proposed site, said he raised his concerns about the increased traffic with the developers, to no avail.

"This is my kid's school bus stop. If this gets built, suddenly there are five lanes of traffic with slip lanes and turning lanes, and the kids have got to cross the road and stand at a servo. God knows who's at the servo," he said.

"I met with the designer early on, and he reassured me he could re-design it and put in bus stops. But, he never got back to us."

Nearby resident Phil Mills said the developer's current plan to close a section of One Tree Road would leave farmers without access to their properties.

"A lot of farmers own land north and south of here. It's a very busy road for them," he said.

"Stock and all our machinery come down this road. If they close this road, where do we go? You can't drive through a servo with all your big machinery."

Mr Brilliant said the proposed location would also limit access for emergency services, should a fire break out on a nearby property.

"There was no consideration given to CFA access for fires. There is a bushland reserve along the creek and farmland. If this (land) turns into a car park or a service station what do the CFA do?" he said.

Horsham Rural City Council said it had received a number of objections to the proposal during a notification process held in September.

"The proposal site is located east of Horsham on the Western Highway, and a number of issues have been raised regarding access and impact on adjoining land," a spokesperson said.

"The applicant is currently working through the issues raised and has requested time to consider these."

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Metrowest didn't respond to the Mail-Times' request for comment.

Previously, company director Peter Breckenridge said the location of the service centre was proposed with a view to getting trucks off the main street of Horsham.

"We looked at a whole lot of different locations throughout Horsham and identified the site because of its natural stopping position for trucks between Melbourne and Adelaide. From a logbook stop perspective, it's well-positioned," he told the Mail-Times last year.

"That's really why we picked here - in the event of any changes to logbook legislation or a bypass of Horsham; we believe we are going to be well-positioned to offer something that will last into the future."

Mr Breckenridge expected the development to take nine to 11 months to build, if approved, and create up to 75 new full-time and part-time jobs, once operational.