Motorway Services Online

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Revision as of 17:31, 3 March 2020

Location:

A419 northbound between Cirencester and Swindon

Signposted from the road? Northbound only

Postcode:

SN6 6JR

map and directions

Access/Layout:

Two sites staggered between junctions, with no public connection between them..

A pair of petrol stations, although currently only northbound is open. Southbound is mothballed due to legal issues.

Facilities

Forecourt: northbound only: Esso, SPAR, Starbucks on the Go, Subway, Greggs, AdBlue4You
and southbound only: Under development

Contact Details

🏢 Address:
Calcutt Service Station
Calcutt
Swindon
Wiltshire
SN6 6JR

🌍 Operators & Official Websites:

Northbound Forecourt operated by Euro Garages

Trivia and History

The southbound petrol station is known as Seven Bridge Garage. It was built in the 1950s, on the then-single carriageway Ermin Way. Its name refers to the small crossing of the River Ray immediately south-east of here, which is officially (and confusingly) named Seven Bridges Bridge.

The northbound side was built in the late 1970s or 1980s, and is known as just Calcutt services.

In 1988, Roadchef planned to build a restaurant next to each forecourt, but their plans were refused. In 1990, Blue Boar planned to build a restaurant, shop, tourist information centre and motel beside the existing southbound forecourt, but this plan was refused too.

The northbound side included 'On the Run' branding and a Costa Coffee unit, before it was taken over by Euro Garages in late 2015.

Southbound Issues

While the northbound side had road signs referring to it as an official service station, the southbound side did not.

It was a Gulf filling station operated by Bayford Group. The site was also used by the Seven Bridges Service Centre, and a used car dealer which operated from the detached house next door.

In 2015, the petrol station closed and the land was fenced off. The site was put up for sale and purchased by a developer who worked with BP Express. BP made a planning application to demolish the existing facility and replace it with a new, more modern, BP forecourt and shop.

Highways England attached several conditions to this planning application, relating to the short entry and exit from the petrol station, and the fact that the petrol station itself would be positioned so close to the main dual carriageway. These safety concerns are an inevitable consequence of such an old site being re-used.

Highways England also raised concerns with the cramped layout proposed for the new site, and this would combine with the entry issues to create a real risk of traffic queueing along the A419.

It's understood that the developer were happy to comply with Highways England's requests, with work starting in 2018. This would have included the construction of a very long entry slip road. However, it was discovered that the new slip road would interfere with the main water line, which meant this aspect had to be put on hold.

While the main build was finished in late 2019, as of March 2020 the slip road issue remains unresolved which means Highways England will not allow it to open. It's hoped that the issue will be resolved late in 2020. While the remaining issues may seem relatively trivial, they would require lane closures on the main A419 which has to be negotiated with Highways England.

Alternatives

Previous:		Next:
Cirencester (9 miles)	Services on the A419	Membury (M4 east, 18 miles)

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 |markerpost = 110 }}
-A pair of petrol stations, although only the northbound side is signed as an official service station. The southbound forecourt is currently being redeveloped by [[BP Express]].
+A pair of petrol stations, although currently only northbound is open. Southbound is mothballed due to legal issues.
 ==Facilities==
@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 ==Trivia and History==
-[[File:Calcutt Gulf.jpg|250px|thumb|right|alt=Gulf petrol station.|The former southbound Gulf forecourt.]]
+[[File:Calcutt Gulf.jpg|250px|thumb|right|alt=Gulf petrol station.|The former southbound Gulf forecourt, positioned right next to the road]]
-The southbound side was built in the 1950s, and is known as Seven Bridge. The northbound side is newer - 1970s or '80s, and is known as just Calcutt services. In 1988, [[Roadchef]] planned to build a restaurant next to each forecourt, but their plans were refused.
+The southbound petrol station is known as '''Seven Bridge Garage'''. It was built in the 1950s, on the then-single carriageway Ermin Way. Its name refers to the small crossing of the River Ray immediately south-east of here, which is officially (and confusingly) named '''Seven Bridges Bridge'''.
-In 1990, [[Blue Boar]] planned to build a restaurant, shop, tourist information centre and motel beside the existing southbound forecourt, but this plan was refused too.
+The northbound side was built in the late 1970s or 1980s, and is known as just Calcutt services.
-The northbound side was taken over by Euro Garages in late 2015. Until then it included 'On the Run' branding and a Costa Coffee unit.
+In 1988, [[Roadchef]] planned to build a restaurant next to each forecourt, but their plans were refused. In 1990, [[Blue Boar]] planned to build a restaurant, shop, tourist information centre and motel beside the existing southbound forecourt, but this plan was refused too.
-The southbound side had been a [[Gulf]] filling station operated by Bayford Group. It was closed in 2015, with the site being purchased by [[BP Express]] in 2018. They are currently rebuilding the site and it was expected to reopen in Winter 2019 however due to legal disputes with the length of the slip roads, the opening is postponed until further notice.
+The northbound side included 'On the Run' branding and a Costa Coffee unit, before it was taken over by Euro Garages in late 2015.
+===Southbound Issues===
+While the northbound side had road signs referring to it as an official service station, the southbound side did not.
+It was a [[Gulf]] filling station operated by Bayford Group. The site was also used by the Seven Bridges Service Centre, and a used car dealer which operated from the detached house next door.
+In 2015, the petrol station closed and the land was fenced off. The site was put up for sale and purchased by a developer who worked with [[BP Express]]. BP made a planning application to demolish the existing facility and replace it with a new, more modern, BP forecourt and shop.
+Highways England attached several conditions to this planning application, relating to the short entry and exit from the petrol station, and the fact that the petrol station itself would be positioned so close to the main dual carriageway. These safety concerns are an inevitable consequence of such an old site being re-used.
+Highways England also raised concerns with the cramped layout proposed for the new site, and this would combine with the entry issues to create a real risk of traffic queueing along the A419.
+It's understood that the developer were happy to comply with Highways England's requests, with work starting in 2018. This would have included the construction of a very long entry slip road. However, it was discovered that the new slip road would interfere with the main water line, which meant this aspect had to be put on hold.
+While the main build was finished in late 2019, as of March 2020 the slip road issue remains unresolved which means Highways England will not allow it to open. It's hoped that the issue will be resolved late in 2020. While the remaining issues may seem relatively trivial, they would require lane closures on the main A419 which has to be negotiated with Highways England.
 ==Alternatives==