Braintree (Notley Cross) services
A120 at Panners and Great Notley Interchanges
(also accessible to traffic on the A131 and the B1256)
Signposted from the road.
CM77 7AB
map and directions
Single site located at a junction.
This is the service area west of Braintree at Great Notley. For the one at Fowler's Farm, see Galley's Corner. For the electric forecourt, see GRIDSERVE Braintree.
One of the newer service areas on the A120 is positioned within the Panners and Great Notley interchanges; a knot which has adopted the name "Notley Cross".
Facilities
Catering: Toby Carvery Amenities: Holiday Inn Express Outdoor Space: Tiny grass verges; public footpath connections Forecourt: BP, M&S Simply Food, Wild Bean Café, Car Wash, Free Cash Machine
Parking Prices
Short stay customer parking is available for cars at all facilities. No HGV parking is available.
Parking and use of the forecourt is limited to 30 minutes maximum stay from entry to exit and is strictly enforced by BP.
Guests of the hotel also must provide their vehicle registration number to reception in order to receive free parking during their stay as the car park is controlled by ParkingEye.
Chargeable parking is also available 24/7 within the hotel car park via the JustPark app.
This information is provided to us by third parties. You should always check with staff on site.
Contact Details
🏢 Address:
Notley Cross
Braintree
Essex
CM77 7AB
Trivia and History
The area around the Panners junction has seen a lot of development. The land that the service area is built on used to have the A120 cross it, but this was removed when the bypass was built, making it suitable for purchase.
Plans for a service area here date back to 1991. It was proposed by Countryside Commercial Plc, who were working with Norfolk House, who we know had worked with Little Chef and McDonald's. Planning permission was granted for a petrol station, hotel and restaurant, and this was renewed in 1997. It remained unused.
Heritage Braintree proposed a service area here in 2004, which they called Notley Park. It had two drive thru restaurants, a Sleep Inn hotel and a petrol station. Planning permission was granted. Curiously, despite it being the 21st century, the design included two parking spaces at the back designated for "ladies only".
The hotel opened in December 2007, but a last-minute change saw it become the first Purple Hotel in the country. This brand didn't last long, and in 2009 it became Blueberry Hotel. It soon changed again to Hampton by Hilton, and in 2012 it became Holiday Inn Express.
As there was still no restaurant, the road layout was changed in 2010 to make space for one large restaurant instead of the previously planned two. The Toby Carvery eventually opened in 2012.
Unusually, the petrol station was the last part of the development to open, only opening in 2016. At this point it could finally be considered a full service area, and it gained official signage from the A120.
Alternatives
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| Great Dunmow (9 miles) Stansted (13 miles) | Services on the A120 | Galley's Corner (2 miles) |