The service areas listed on this page have been marked in our database as being fully closed.
It is by no means a precise list: there are hundreds of roadside eateries and petrol stations that have closed over the years, but we have only included the ones which were in some way remarkable. Most of these were either lost to road construction or rendered redundant by it.
Motorway service areas are generally too big and busy to totally close, so this list is mostly about smaller A-road sites. There are plenty of examples of motorway service areas that have been demolished and re-built (Heart of Scotland, Rivington, Northampton) or moved (Strensham, Aust). These don't make the list, and neither do the ones which were part-abandoned (Burtonwood).
If you have Google Earth or another KML reader you can download a map of abandoned service areas.
Sample list of closed service areas
The following entries are marked as closed in our database. This does not mean that they have ceased trading all together, it just means that they are no longer a formal service area that serves the major road network.
- Abbots (A14 between Huntingdon and Cambridge)
- Aberford (A1 between Knottingley and Wetherby)
- Black Cat (A1 and A421 between Biggleswade and Huntingdon)
- Blisworth (A43 southbound between Northampton and Towcester)
- Brechin (A90 between Forfar and Laurencekirk)
- Briton Ferry (A48 Neath Bypass)
- Camel Hill (A303 between Amesbury and Ilchester)
- Godmanchester (A604 near Huntingdon)
- Guildford (A3 near Guildford)
- Kentford (A14 between J38 and J39)
- Kingdom (A92 near M90 J3)
- Kings Worthy (A33 Winchester Bypass)
- Lolworth (A14 westbound between J28A and J29)
- Nacton Heath (A14 eastbound between J57 and J58)
- Newby (A65 between Ingleton and Settle)
- Oaktree (A1 between Boroughbridge and Leeming Bar)
- Popham (A33 near Micheldever)
- Rainton (A1 Leeming Lane)
- Southways (A1 between Boroughbridge and Leeming Bar)
- Spital (A1 southbound between Doncaster and Newark)
- Stoke Rochford (A1 between Stamford and Grantham)
- Swavesey (A14 eastbound between J28A and J29)
- Wansford (A1 near Wansford)
This list is only a sample of some of the more interesting cases, and shouldn't be used for a formal analysis. For starters, these vary widely in their size and significance.
These are examples more of places which used to be signposted as official service areas, but no longer are:
- Bassingfield (A52) - signage removed in 2009. It is still shown on OS maps.
- Boroughbridge Morrisons used to be signed from the A1(M) northbound.
- Copdock Mill had signs removed from the A12 in 2016.
- Harlow (A414) - signage was removed in 2010. It is still shown in OS maps.
- Wardlow Mires (A623) - had a sign in each direction which was mostly covered up in around 2010.
- Wirral Park (A39) - signed from the roundabout until 2007, and may have been signed in advance.
In addition, Featherstone Truckstop used to be signed from the M54, and Londonderry Lorry Park used to be signed from the A1, but neither had full service area status.
You may also be interested in the list of former Little Chef restaurants.
What happens when a service area closes?
As with many rules, the regulations around redundant roadside facilities were significantly relaxed in 2013. Now a closed service area can be converted to anything, so long as it passes through the usual planning process and convinces highway authorities that it won't create any congestion. Motorway service areas have a special status because motorways are not supposed to provide direct access to private developments, but even that rule has become very laid back.
Previously, a detailed policy was in place, stating that service areas built after 2008 would have a planning condition that the land would need to be returned to nature if the service area were to close. The Highways Agency also had a policy of opposing any plan to convert a former roadside facility into something unrelated. This appeared to be aimed mainly (though not exclusively) at facilities which benefited from direct access to the main road, due to their fears about additional traffic being generated.
Many between-junction service areas are built to old design standards which changed in the 2010s. If they close, any reopening has to involve an upgrade to the slip roads. This can be expensive and disruptive, as happened at Seven Bridges in 2020.