Motorway Service Areas
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Motorway service areas (MSA) also known as services or service stations, are
rest area A rest area is a public facility located next to a large thoroughfare such as a motorway, Limited-access road, expressway, or highway, at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting onto secondary roads. Other names ...
s in the UK and
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
where drivers can leave a
motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...
to refuel/recharge, rest, eat and drink, shop, use the toilet or stay in an on-site overnight hotel. They are also a safe refuge for drivers who break down alongside leaving at a motorway junction. The vast majority of motorway services in the UK are owned by one of three companies: Moto, Welcome Break and
Roadchef Roadchef Motorways Limited is a company which operates 21 motorway service areas in the United Kingdom. History Roadchef was founded in July 1973 as a joint venture between Lindley Catering Investments and Galleon World Travel, with the first ...
. Smaller operators include
Extra Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * Extra (newspaper), ...
,
Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...
and
EG Group EG Group Limited is a British operator of filling stations, convenience stores and Fast-food restaurant, food service providers across Europe, the United States and Australia. It was founded in Blackburn in 2001 by brothers Mohsin and Zuber Iss ...
.


History


United Kingdom

The first two service areas in the UK,
Watford Gap Watford Gap is a low-lying area between two hills in the English Midlands, near Daventry and the village of Watford in Northamptonshire. Engineers from Roman times onwards have found it to be the most practical route for connecting the Midlands ...
and
Newport Pagnell Newport Pagnell is a town and civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes urban area. The town is separated from the rest of the u ...
, opened with temporary facilities when the M1 motorway was opened, on 2 November 1959. Initially, most service areas were designed to be bold and attractive, with many opening viewing platforms and featuring fancy restaurants. A famous example of a service area from this era is
Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...
, which features a 65ft tower which previously contained the main restaurant. However, it became apparent in the late 1960s that such fancy amenities were unprofitable, so service areas began offering an increasingly basic service. High street brands were introduced to service areas in the 1990s, with most facilities eventually becoming franchises of well known brands. As more service stations opened, the number of operating companies increased, with sites run by the
Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation (founded as the J. Arthur Rank Organisation) is a British entertainment conglomerate founded in 1937 by industrialist J. Arthur Rank. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the Uni ...
,
Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...
, Pavilion, Take a Break and Esso, among others. Through acquisitions and mergers, there are now only three major operators. In an attempt to break this oligopoly, in 2001, the government proposed allowing "mobile fast food vans" to operate at the areas, though this idea never came to fruition. Originally, service areas were government-owned and leased to the operating companies. From 1992 onwards, new sites were planned and owned by private operators, and existing sites sold to them. In 2007, an AA survey concluded that service areas had improved in the previous three years, but cleanliness and pricing were still major issues. Opposition towards service areas has grown, with some planning applications being refused: some notable examples are Catherine-de-Barnes on the M42, and Kirby Hill on the
A1(M) A1(M) is the designation given to a series of four separate motorway sections in the UK. Each section is an upgrade to a section of the A1, a major north–south road which connects London, the capital of England, with Edinburgh, the capita ...
, both of which have had applications contested. Despite concerns of local residents,
Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, northwest of central London and southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High Wycombe. The ...
on the M40 opened on 17 March 2009, and
Cobham services Cobham services is a motorway service area on the M25 motorway in Surrey between junctions 9 and 10. It is operated by Extra MSA and was opened for business on 13 September 2012. Its planned opening date was scheduled to be early 2010, but was ...
opened in September 2012. Kirby Hill would eventually get approved for construction in April 2021. In 2017,
Transport Focus Transport Focus is the statutory watchdog for transport passengers and road users in Great Britain, with offices in London and Manchester. It was named the Rail Passengers Council until January 2006 when renamed Passenger Focus. It was renamed ag ...
began an annual review of service areas, with each site ranked on a league table. Reviews have taken place every year since. The latest UK motorway service area to open is
Rugby services Rugby services is a motorway service station operated by Moto Hospitality and situated at junction 1 of the M6 motorway in Warwickshire, England. History The services was built to fill one of the largest gaps without services on the major mot ...
, operated by
Moto Hospitality Moto Hospitality Limited, trading as Moto, is a British service station operator which operates 59 motorway service stations across the United Kingdom. It is currently the UK's largest service area operator. History Operations (2001–2020) ...
which opened on 30 April 2021.


Ireland

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
has six official motorway service areas, but 16 in total. The first service area, Lusk services, opened on the M1 on 8 September 2010. For many years, the
National Roads Authority The National Roads Authority (NRA) () is a state body in Ireland, responsible for the national road network. The NRA was established as part of the Roads Act 1993 and commenced operations on 23 December 1993 in accordance with S.I. 407 of 1993 ...
(NRA) opposed building services, preferring traffic to use existing businesses in bypassed towns, and that the motorway network was not large enough to support them. However, in 2006 the ''Roads Act 2007'' made provision for a ''Motorway Service Area Scheme'' to allow the construction of services. The NRA held a competition to determine an operator for the first three service areas to be opened. SuperStop, a consortium consisting of Petrogas (Applegreen) and Tedcastles Oil Products (TOP), won the contract. These first services were Lusk ( M1), Castlebellingham (M1) and Enfield ( M4) and were all opened in late 2010. Motorway services began to be developed privately from 2011, following delays from the NRA due to the economic recession. The first of these private sites was Cashel services on the M8, which was built by
Topaz Topaz is a silicate mineral made of aluminium, aluminum and fluorine with the chemical formula aluminium, Alsilicon, Sioxygen, O(fluorine, F, hydroxide, OH). It is used as a gemstone in jewelry and other adornments. Common topaz in its natural ...
and opened on 9 June 2011. The NRA awarded the second batch of three services (Gorey, Athlone and Kilcullen) to Topaz in 2014. SuperStop objected to the decision - resulting in the construction and opening of the three services being delayed. All three sites would eventually be opened in 2019, despite Gorey being constructed as far back as 2015. The sites would also open under Circle K instead after Topaz had been rebranded under the banner in 2018. The newest motorway service area in Ireland is the Portlaoise Plaza, which opened on 31 July 2020. The third wave of services is currently under review by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (successor to the NRA).


Operators


UK operators


ROI operators

* Applegreen/SuperStop *
Circle K Circle K Stores, Inc. is a Canadian-American chain of convenience stores headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, and owned by Alimentation Couche-Tard, Alimentation Couche-Tard, Inc., based in Laval, Quebec. Founded in 1951 in El Paso, Texas, the comp ...
(formerly
Topaz Topaz is a silicate mineral made of aluminium, aluminum and fluorine with the chemical formula aluminium, Alsilicon, Sioxygen, O(fluorine, F, hydroxide, OH). It is used as a gemstone in jewelry and other adornments. Common topaz in its natural ...
) * Plaza Group


Locations

Current government policy is that the interval between core motorway service areas should be no more than or 30minutes travelling time, whichever is the lesser. A previous minimum separation of 12 miles was removed in 2013. The current 28miles is derived from 30minutes driving time for an HGV limited to and replaced the previous in 2008. Initially service areas were located between junctions (on-line sites), having their own entry and exit slip roads. On-line sites usually have a separate site for each direction of travel, but e.g.
Cobham services Cobham services is a motorway service area on the M25 motorway in Surrey between junctions 9 and 10. It is operated by Extra MSA and was opened for business on 13 September 2012. Its planned opening date was scheduled to be early 2010, but was ...
has a single site, accessed directly from the clockwise carriageway and via a tunnel from the anticlockwise carriageway of the M25. In some cases a pair of on-line sites for opposite directions may be connected via a pedestrian footbridge. In 1992, the system was changed so that the developer became responsible for choosing the site of a motorway service area, and consequently junction sites became the preferred option as they are cheaper to construct, as well as being accessible to traffic travelling in several directions. Following a public consultation in 2007/8, the Department for Transport/Highways Agency announced that new services should be located at on-line sites, unless a junction site is the only possibility.Policy on Service Areas and Other Roadside Facilities On Motorways and All-Purpose Trunk Roads in England
– the Department for Transport
Two recent openings,
Wetherby Wetherby ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire and lies approximately from Leeds city centre, from ...
(2008) and
Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, northwest of central London and southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High Wycombe. The ...
(2009), are examples of junction sites: they are located at A1(M) junction 46, and M40 junction 2 respectively. However, more recently still, Cobham (2012) and
Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...
(2014) are on-line. The siting of motorway service areas can be contentious, leading to protracted public inquiries, and often vociferous local campaigns against proposed schemes.


Facilities and requirements

Government policy for motorway services has been set out in a succession of Department for Transport Circulars, the current version being issued in December 2022. This sets out various facilities that must be provided in a new service station. Existing services that do not comply, because the requirements have changed, must achieve compliance as part of any significant refurbishment. These are enforced on operators either by the terms of their lease or by the need for the Highways Agency to agree to provide access to the motorway, and
planning permission Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to buil ...
should be granted only for facilities that comply. The requirements include 24-hour, 365-day provision of: * Free parking for a minimum of 2 hours. Separate parking must be provided for motorcycles, cars, caravans (drive-through so as not to require reversing), coaches, HGVs, abnormal loads, and disabled parking. In each case the minimum number of spaces is set by a formula based on traffic flow. * Fuel. * Free toilets and hand-washing facilities with no obligation to make a purchase. The minimum number of toilets is specified by a similar formula to that for parking. Shower and toilet facilities are also required within the HGV parking area. * Baby-changing and breastfeeding facilities. * Free play area for children. * Hot drinks and hot food. Until 2013, the requirement was only for 24-hour snacks and hot drinks, plus hot substantial food from 6am to 10pm. A picnic area with a minimum of ten tables each seating six people was required up to 2013, and is still required in order for a picnic area to be advertised on signage. The following restrictions also apply: * All traffic signing must comply with the
Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions (commonly abbreviated to TSRGD) is the law that sets out the design and conditions of use of official traffic signs that can be lawfully placed on or near roads in Great Britain (England, Sc ...
that specify traffic signs for the rest of the road network. * Rear access, from the local road network, is either not provided at all, or is restricted to staff and deliveries and is physically segregated from the main service area. Lodges for accommodation are permitted. Conference facilities or business centres and retail space are permitted; the size of each of these was limited, basically to respectively, until 2013, but are now left to the planning system. Originally, service areas were allowed to sell alcohol with food. Sale of alcohol was outlawed on service areas on government-owned land from 1961, permitted from 1998, banned for new sites from 2008, and permitted again from 2013. The government policy distinguishes "service areas" and "rest areas". There are three rest areas ( Todhills, Leeming Bar, and Scotch Corner). All were existing facilities on
trunk road A trunk road is a major highway with a specific legal classification in some jurisdictions, notably the United Kingdom, Sweden and formerly Ireland. Trunk roads are planned and managed at the national-level, distinguishing them from non-trunk ro ...
s that were upgraded to motorways, and now, in fact, meet the requirements for service areas. There is a further category of
Truck Stop A truck stop (known as a service station in the United Kingdom, a travel center by major chains in the United States and a roadhouse in rural Australia) is a commercial facility which provides refueling, rest (parking), and often ready-made f ...
, serving HGVs only.


See also

*
Extra (service areas) Extra MSA Services Ltd is a company that operates nine motorway service stations in England, mainly on primary routes. It is based at Beaconsfield services, previously being in the centre of Lincoln. It is also known as Extra MSA Forecourts L ...
* List of motorway service areas in the United Kingdom *
Moto Hospitality Moto Hospitality Limited, trading as Moto, is a British service station operator which operates 59 motorway service stations across the United Kingdom. It is currently the UK's largest service area operator. History Operations (2001–2020) ...
*
Rest area A rest area is a public facility located next to a large thoroughfare such as a motorway, Limited-access road, expressway, or highway, at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting onto secondary roads. Other names ...
* Roadside station (''Michi no eki''), equivalent to motorway service areas in
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
*
RoadChef Roadchef Motorways Limited is a company which operates 21 motorway service areas in the United Kingdom. History Roadchef was founded in July 1973 as a joint venture between Lindley Catering Investments and Galleon World Travel, with the first ...
* Welcome Break


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Motorway Service Area Motorway service areas (United Kingdom)