A30 at Chiverton Cross Interchange
(also accessible to traffic on the A390, A3075 and the B3277)
Signposted from the road.
TR4 8HS
map and directions
Single site located at a junction.
This service area used to be a strange example of two adjacent petrol stations, named Chiverton Cross and Three Burrows.
Facilities
Catering: Starbucks Outdoor Space: Grass verge around coffee shop; public footpath connections Forecourt: Esso, Londis, Costa Express
Parking Prices
Short stay customer parking is available for cars at both facilities, with parking in the Starbucks car park limited to 3 hours maximum stay during store opening hours only. These restrictions are strictly enforced by Parking Eye.
No HGV parking is available.
This information is provided to us by third parties. You should always check with staff on site.
Contact Details
🏢 Address:
Chiverton Cross
Blackwater
Truro
Cornwall
TR4 8HS
Trivia and History
Chiverton Cross was a crossroads positioned where the small roundabout on the B3277 now is. It had a large car repairs garage on the corner, which is now the used car dealership. This was later joined by a Shell forecourt, which was known as Three Burrows services.
The Blackwater Bypass was built in 1988, which provided access to the old crossroads from the new Chiverton Cross Roundabout, which crossed one of its arms. The road past the forecourt was now redundant, cut off by the bypass, but this meant the petrol station was at least clearly visible from the new road.
This investment attracted more interest in the facilities. The 'Chiverton Cross' branch of Little ChefHistory opened opposite the forecourt in October 1988, on stale land that was boxed in by the new road.
This Little Chef gained an extension in 1998, housing a new Burger King restaurant. These both traded until winter 2007, when they were deemed unprofitable and closed. The building has since become a Starbucks store.
Seeing Double
That April, the Truro-based A J Autos moved their car sales business into the car repairs garage here. The purchase included two adjacent houses, and the surrounding land.
These houses were demolished and a second forecourt was built directly next to the existing Shell forecourt. This one was branded Esso with a Snack & Shop store, and opened on 28 July 1989, with even the owner being slightly surprised to receive planning permission.
Three Burrows became an Elf forecourt in the 1990s, before rebranding to Total in 2003, following the merger of Elf and TotalFina. The shop went on to be branded Premier. Three Burrows was then re-branded Esso in 2011, creating the unusual situation where two seemingly identical petrol stations traded side-by-side. In the same year, the complex was removed from Ordnance Survey maps where it had been listed as a full service area.
Both forecourts were acquired by MRH in 2012, and transferred to MFG in 2018. MFG closed the Three Burrows forecourt in 2020, preferring Chiverton Cross, which was closer to the road. For a while after its closure, the car wash at Three Burrows was still accessible.
Expansion Plans
Several plans to significantly expand facilities around this area have been proposed over the years.
There were plans to add a picnic area and drive-thru restaurant to the Three Burrows site in 1998, but this never happened.
Another plan was granted permission in 2013 which would have seen the car sales showroom demolished and a 67-bed hotel with restaurant built in its place, but this wasn't carried forward. A subsequent plan would have seen the car sales showroom turned in to a restaurant with the rear of the building maintained as workshop garages. Eventually a Rowe's Cornish Bakers store was added in 2019.
A separate plan for a hotel and restaurant to be built on the north-western arm of the original roundabout was granted planning permission in 2016, which was renewed later.
Meanwhile, Cornwall Council granted planning permission for both filling stations to be demolished and replaced with one single, larger petrol station in 2018. Further proposals for a hotel and restaurant development adjacent to the current filling stations was granted in August 2019.
As part of the project to upgrade the A30 in the area to dual carriageway, the Chiverton Cross Roundabout was removed in June 2023. Access to the service area is now be provided via the new Chiverton Junction, about half a mile down the B3277. It remains to be seen how the diversion will impact trade.
Alternatives
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| Carland Cross (8 miles) | Services on the A30 | Hayle (12 miles) |