Calcutt services
A419 northbound between Cirencester and Swindon
Signposted from the road? Northbound only
SN6 6JR
map and directions
Two sites staggered between junctions, with no public connection between them..
A pair of petrol stations on the A419.
Facilities
Forecourt: northbound only: Esso, SPAR, Greggs, Starbucks on the Go, AdBlue4You, Free Cash Machine
and southbound only: BP, M&S Simply Food, Wild Bean Café, Air1 AdBlue, Free Cash Machine
Contact Details
🏢 Address:
Calcutt Service Station
Calcutt
Swindon
Wiltshire
SN6 6JR
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 was fenced off. The freeholder, who purchased the land in 2009, agreed to lease part of the site to 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.
The developers 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, the slip road issue remained unresolved which meant Highways England would not allow it to open.
The BP filling station and M&S Simply Food store finally opened on 9 December 2020, after the completion of the new slip road. The freeholder of the site plans to add electric vehicle charging points and potentially a fast food chain, Costa or Greggs.
Alternatives
| Previous: | Next: | |
| Cirencester (9 miles) | Services on the A419 | Membury (M4 east, 18 miles) |