Cardiff Gate services
(Gwasanaethau Porth Caerdydd)
M4 at J30
(also accessible to traffic on the A4232)
Signposted from the road.
CF23 8RA
map and directions
Single site located at a junction..
Cardiff Gate exists to serve the business park it is part of more than anything else. Since it was acquired by Welcome Break, it has become a full service area.
Facilities
Catering: KFC Drive Thru, Starbucks, Krispy Kreme, Starbucks on the Go Shops: WHSmith Amenities: Showers : Template:Website Template:Charging points Forecourt: Template:WB Fuel, Template:The Deli, Rollover, Starbucks on the Go, Air1 AdBlue
Parking Prices
First 2 hours free for all vehicles, after which cars must pay £15 for a further 24 hours and HGVs, caravans and coaches must pay £25 (or £27 to include a £10 meal voucher).
Prices can be paid in the shop with instructions in each car park. They are strictly enforced by ParkingEye.
This information is provided to us by third parties. You should always check with staff on site.
Contact Details
🏢 Address:
Welcome Break Services
Malthouse Avenue
Cardiff Gate Business Park
Pontprennau
Cardiff
South Glamorgan
CF23 8RA
- Amenity building and forecourt operated by Welcome Break
- Hotel operated by Accor Group
- Facebook Page
- Foursquare Page
- 📞 Telephone number: 029 2054 1122
- 📌 what3words: ///scope.line.open
- more map options
Trivia and History
Inside the services.
The service area has 180 car parking spaces including 15 disabled spaces, 35 HGV spaces and 5 caravan spaces, built across 10 acres of land.
A Costa and Greggs are set to open in an unrelated rival development opposite the service area.
Past
See also: M4 Planning Applications
Cardiff Gate services was first applied for in 1988 by a developer called Heron Homes, tied in to the construction of the A4232 and a new employment area. It was then applied for again in 1991, 1992, 1995 (by Brunswick IDL), by them again in 1998, and finally in 1999. It was opened in November 2000. Brunswick's proposal was not connected with the neighbouring business park which opened around the same time.
The service area offered an Ibis Hotel, Little Chef, Burger King, a shop managed by Granada (later Moto) and a Elf filling station. It's not clear whether the service area was operated entirely by Brunswick, or leased to Granada, who would have provided many of the facilities.
In 2002 Brunswick went into receivership. The land was then purchased by the business park, who intended to lease out more units to allow the service area to cater for people working nearby as well as motorway users. One of these to open was a takeaway restaurant called Todiís. A Coffee Tempo! was also later added.
In January 2007 the Little Chef here was closed following that brand's financial problems. The filling station changed to Total.
Welcome Break Era
In July 2007 Welcome Break bought the main building for £650,000 and over a few months they brought in their facilities. The move was part of a series of gestures aimed at making the Welcome Break name about more than just long-distance motorway users.
In May 2010 a Starbucks opened replacing the Eat In and Coffee Primo, making it one of the first service areas in the country not to have a full restaurant. A service road next to the building was then utilised to create their first KFC drive thru.
Similar to several A-road sites, the filling station was sold to Rontec in 2012 due to Total's departure from the UK, who sold it to Shell, making it the only Shell station at a Welcome Break site not to be directly operated by Welcome Break themselves. In late 2016, the filling station, which was let to Shell on a 25 year lease, was sold for £4,000,000 in an off market transaction by a private investor to the owners of Cardiff Gate Business Park, Sir Robert McAlpine Enterprises, but Welcome Break bought the lease from Shell. Welcome Break still do not operate the hotel.
In October 2020 it was announced that Sir Robert McAlpine Enterprises had sold the Welcome Break service station and Shell petrol station to Newcore Capital Management for £10,000,000. The site has an annual passing rent of £515,023.
Alternatives
| Previous: | Next: | |
| Magor (16 miles) | Services on the M4 | Cardiff West (8 miles) |
| Membury (77 miles) Michaelwood (M5 north, 32 miles) Gordano (M5 south, 26 miles) | Welcome Break services | Sarn Park (22 miles) |
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