Rugby services is a

motorway service station Motorway service areas (MSA) also known as services or service stations, are rest areas in the UK and Ireland where drivers can leave a motorway to refuel/recharge, rest, eat and drink, shop, use the toilet or stay in an on-site overnight hotel ...

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) ...

and situated at junction 1 of the

M6 motorway The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 motorway, M1 and the western end of t ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, England.

History

The services was built to fill one of the largest gaps without services on the major motorway network, whereby vehicles travelling south on the M6 and joining the M1 must travel for 25 miles between Corley and Watford Gap. The proposed building of a services in the Rugby area dates back to 1975, when plans were put forward for a site at Harborough Magna, approximately two miles north of Junction 1; the slip roads for the site were built and exist to this day, but the plan was shelved in 1980. A further proposal was made in 2003 by Extra MSA Services, but was rejected by

Warwickshire County Council Warwickshire County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Warwickshire in England. Its headquarters are at Shire Hall in the centre of Warwick, the county town. The council's principal functions are county ro ...

as it would violate their green belt planning policy. A new plan by Moto was put forward in 2016 and approved in November 2017. The services were due to open in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic and adverse weather conditions meant that opening was delayed until 30 April 2021. In October 2022, the services was named the best in Britain by a survey of over 31,000 people by

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 ...

, the statutory watchdog for transport passengers and road users.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rugby Services 2021 establishments in England M6 motorway service stations Moto motorway service stations Buildings and structures in Warwickshire Transport in Warwickshire