Strensham services
Encyclopedia
Strensham services is a motorway service station on the M5
in Worcestershire
, England
. In August 2011, it was rated as 4 stars (southbound) and 3 stars (northbound) by quality assessors at Visit England.
Unusually for a motorway service station, the two sites are about half a mile apart due to the proximity of junction 8 (for the M50 motorway
). The services opened with the motorway in 1962 and have undergone many developments over time, largely due to the evolution of the motorway, which at the time of its opening ran from Birmingham
to Strensham but now runs to Exeter
some 100 miles southwards. It was the first service station on the M5.
and M50
motorways in November 1962, though none of the original buildings survive in use. The M5, which was built with dual two-lane carriageways, was extended southwards, from junction 8 in 1969, with dual three-lane carriageways. It was widened between junctions 3 and 8 to dual three-lane carriageways in the early 1990s including a remodelling of junction 8 (M50). The proximity of the northbound area to the remodelled junction would have caused issues with traffic trying to join and leave the motorway and so it was relocated half a mile to the north on a new larger site in 1991. The exit from the southbound services has been altered to feed directly into the M50 junction. The former northbound area is now in use as a maintenance area, though due to the motorway widening this can now only be accessed from the local road network.
Wychavon District Council refused to renew the gambling machine permit for the service area in 1994, under its policy not to allow gambling machines
in areas where food was sold to the public. The Kenning Motor Group, who operated the service area at the time went to the High Court
to overturn the decision.
In 1994 the service area was subject to a management buyout
, led by Nick Turner, who had been running the site for the previous three years. It was announced the services would trade under the new name, Take a Break. At the time RoadChef unsuccessfully showed interest in purchasing the site, it wasn't until 2001, by purchasing Take A Break that RoadChef started operating at the Strensham site.
Strensham was one of two test sites chosen by RoadChef for a new loyalty card scheme in 2005. The cards themselves used new technology to physically display the points total on the card. The loyalty scheme is no longer in use today.
In July 2008 RoadChef started a trial at the southbound site by replacing the Wimpy
fast food franchise with a McDonalds outlet, previously only four UK motorway service areas had McDonalds franchises. If this trial was deemed to be successful, RoadChef plan to replace more Wimpy franchises. As part of this trial signs for the southbound area were changed to show the operator name as "McDonalds Costa", although the RoadChef brand is still used at the services itself. The refurbishment created around 80 jobs in the local area.
Since the Southbound refurbishment, all Wimpy outlets have closed to be replaced by own brand The Burger Company. It is thought that this is just a 'holding' brand prior to a full-scale refurbishment. Due to the success of the trial Roadchef have refurbished more sites (including Strensham Northbound) to include The Hot Food Company (Restaurant) and McDonald's
.
The Worcestershire County Air Ambulance
, which has been operating since 1991, moved to the Strensham site in 1998 under a sponsorship deal with Take a Break, who were operating the service area at the time. Access to the air ambulance site can be made from the service station itself or from the local road network via the staff entrance to the services. An open day is held at the site each year to raise money for the operation of the air ambulance. In May 2008 the operational hours of the service was increased from 12 to 14 hours each day, as a result of this, landing lights needed to be installed at the base to enable night time use.
The buildings at this site are described in the book Pevsner's guide
to Worcestershire.
In May 2005 it was reported that the southbound services had over-night parking facilities for 60 lorries. This was a chargeable service.
Access to an air ambulance
base is at the rear of the site. The site also has a budget-chain hotel located within the service area. In May 2005 it was reported that the southbound services had over-night parking facilities for 100 lorries. This was a chargeable service.
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The services are located about 12 miles (19.3 km) south of Worcester
, and about 16 miles (25.7 km) north of Gloucester
. They are also about 100 miles (160.9 km) to the north west of London
.
M5 motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...
in Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. In August 2011, it was rated as 4 stars (southbound) and 3 stars (northbound) by quality assessors at Visit England.
Unusually for a motorway service station, the two sites are about half a mile apart due to the proximity of junction 8 (for the M50 motorway
M50 motorway (Great Britain)
The M50 is a motorway in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire, England. It is long and is sometimes referred to as the Ross Spur. It is the only motorway-class road in Herefordshire.-Route:...
). The services opened with the motorway in 1962 and have undergone many developments over time, largely due to the evolution of the motorway, which at the time of its opening ran from Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
to Strensham but now runs to Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
some 100 miles southwards. It was the first service station on the M5.
History
The original service station opened with the M5M5 motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...
and M50
M50 motorway (Great Britain)
The M50 is a motorway in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire, England. It is long and is sometimes referred to as the Ross Spur. It is the only motorway-class road in Herefordshire.-Route:...
motorways in November 1962, though none of the original buildings survive in use. The M5, which was built with dual two-lane carriageways, was extended southwards, from junction 8 in 1969, with dual three-lane carriageways. It was widened between junctions 3 and 8 to dual three-lane carriageways in the early 1990s including a remodelling of junction 8 (M50). The proximity of the northbound area to the remodelled junction would have caused issues with traffic trying to join and leave the motorway and so it was relocated half a mile to the north on a new larger site in 1991. The exit from the southbound services has been altered to feed directly into the M50 junction. The former northbound area is now in use as a maintenance area, though due to the motorway widening this can now only be accessed from the local road network.
Wychavon District Council refused to renew the gambling machine permit for the service area in 1994, under its policy not to allow gambling machines
Slot machine
A slot machine , informally fruit machine , the slots , poker machine or "pokies" or simply slot is a casino gambling machine with three or more reels which spin when a button is pushed...
in areas where food was sold to the public. The Kenning Motor Group, who operated the service area at the time went to the High Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
to overturn the decision.
In 1994 the service area was subject to a management buyout
Management buyout
A management buyout is a form of acquisition where a company's existing managers acquire a large part or all of the company.- Overview :Management buyouts are similar in all major legal aspects to any other acquisition of a company...
, led by Nick Turner, who had been running the site for the previous three years. It was announced the services would trade under the new name, Take a Break. At the time RoadChef unsuccessfully showed interest in purchasing the site, it wasn't until 2001, by purchasing Take A Break that RoadChef started operating at the Strensham site.
Strensham was one of two test sites chosen by RoadChef for a new loyalty card scheme in 2005. The cards themselves used new technology to physically display the points total on the card. The loyalty scheme is no longer in use today.
In July 2008 RoadChef started a trial at the southbound site by replacing the Wimpy
Wimpy (brand)
Wimpy is the brand name of a chain of fast-food hamburger restaurants based in the United Kingdom.-History:The Wimpy brand was created in the 1930s. The name was inspired by the character of J. Wellington Wimpy from the Popeye cartoons created by E. C. Segar...
fast food franchise with a McDonalds outlet, previously only four UK motorway service areas had McDonalds franchises. If this trial was deemed to be successful, RoadChef plan to replace more Wimpy franchises. As part of this trial signs for the southbound area were changed to show the operator name as "McDonalds Costa", although the RoadChef brand is still used at the services itself. The refurbishment created around 80 jobs in the local area.
Since the Southbound refurbishment, all Wimpy outlets have closed to be replaced by own brand The Burger Company. It is thought that this is just a 'holding' brand prior to a full-scale refurbishment. Due to the success of the trial Roadchef have refurbished more sites (including Strensham Northbound) to include The Hot Food Company (Restaurant) and McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
.
2007 Worcestershire Flooding
As a consequence of heavy rainfall in Worcestershire in July 2007 the M5 motorway was blocked, leaving many stranded cars on the road. The operations manager of the service station, Quintin Speers provided a key role in helping those stranded, opening up areas of the main building to be used by those stuck on the motorway. Quintin Speers also helped drivers by pushing cars to safety and distributing blankets to those in need.Air ambulance
County Air Ambulance
The Midlands Air Ambulance is a United Kingdom regional helicopter emergency medical service. It operates three Eurocopter EC 135 helicopters during daylight hours as air ambulances in the Midlands region of England.-History:...
, which has been operating since 1991, moved to the Strensham site in 1998 under a sponsorship deal with Take a Break, who were operating the service area at the time. Access to the air ambulance site can be made from the service station itself or from the local road network via the staff entrance to the services. An open day is held at the site each year to raise money for the operation of the air ambulance. In May 2008 the operational hours of the service was increased from 12 to 14 hours each day, as a result of this, landing lights needed to be installed at the base to enable night time use.
Present day
Pevsner Architectural Guides
The Pevsner Architectural Guides are a series of guide books to the architecture of the British Isles. Begun in the 1940s by art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the 46 volumes of the Buildings of England series were published between 1951 and 1975. The series was then extended to Scotland and...
to Worcestershire.
Southbound services
The southbound site is in its original location, though none of the original buildings survive. The main building is a large glass-fronted structure with the main car park situated in front of the building, with the lorry and coach parking behind.In May 2005 it was reported that the southbound services had over-night parking facilities for 60 lorries. This was a chargeable service.
Northbound services
Situated half a mile to the north of the southbound services, the northbound services are set back from the motorway. The main building is an unusual design based on curves and circles. Unlike the southbound site, the cash machines are located outside and both the car and lorry parking is to the front of the building.Access to an air ambulance
Air ambulance
An air ambulance is an aircraft used for emergency medical assistance in situations where either a traditional ambulance cannot reach the scene easily or quickly enough, or the patient needs to be transported over a distance or terrain that makes air transportation the most practical transport....
base is at the rear of the site. The site also has a budget-chain hotel located within the service area. In May 2005 it was reported that the southbound services had over-night parking facilities for 100 lorries. This was a chargeable service.
Southbound
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- Costa CoffeeCosta CoffeeCosta Coffee is a British coffeehouse company founded in 1971 by Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa, as a wholesale operation supplying roasted coffee to caterers and specialist Italian coffee shops. Since 1995 it has been a subsidiary of Whitbread, since when the company has grown to over...
- Pizza HutPizza HutPizza Hut is an American restaurant chain and international franchise that offers different styles of pizza along with side dishes including pasta, buffalo wings, breadsticks, and garlic bread....
Express - McDonalds
- The Hot Food Company (Restaurant)
- WHSmithW H SmithWHSmith plc is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It is best known for its chain of high street, railway station, airport, hospital and motorway service station shops selling books, stationery, magazines, newspapers, and entertainment products...
- SubwaySubway (restaurant)Subway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. . Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 35,519 restaurants in 98 countries and territories as of October 25th, 2011...
(Forecourt Only) - Fone Bitz
- Cotton TradersCotton TradersCotton Traders is a British clothing company, specialising in rugby apparel and leisurewear, based in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. It was founded in 1987 by former England national rugby union team captains Fran Cotton and Steve Smith....
- Toilets
- Cash Machine
- TexacoTexacoTexaco is the name of an American oil retail brand. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owns the Havoline motor oil brand....
fuel
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- Costa CoffeeCosta CoffeeCosta Coffee is a British coffeehouse company founded in 1971 by Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa, as a wholesale operation supplying roasted coffee to caterers and specialist Italian coffee shops. Since 1995 it has been a subsidiary of Whitbread, since when the company has grown to over...
- Soho Coffee Co.
- McDonalds
- The Hot Food Company (Restaurant)
- WHSmithW H SmithWHSmith plc is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It is best known for its chain of high street, railway station, airport, hospital and motorway service station shops selling books, stationery, magazines, newspapers, and entertainment products...
- Fone Bitz
- Cotton TradersCotton TradersCotton Traders is a British clothing company, specialising in rugby apparel and leisurewear, based in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. It was founded in 1987 by former England national rugby union team captains Fran Cotton and Steve Smith....
- Toilets
- Cash Machine
- BPBPBP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
fuel
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Location
Strensham services are located slightly to the north of M5 junction 8, the exit slip road from the southbound area merges into the slip road from the M5 to junction 8, so traffic must negotiate junction 8 to rejoin the M5. Northbound the service area is about a mile north of the junction.The services are located about 12 miles (19.3 km) south of Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
, and about 16 miles (25.7 km) north of Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
. They are also about 100 miles (160.9 km) to the north west of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.