Emsworth services
A27 between Portsmouth and Chichester
Signposted from the road.
PO10 7RB
map and directions
Two sites located between junctions, with no public connection between them.
A petrol station on each side of the road forms one of the larger services on the South Coast Trunk Road.
Facilities
Catering: Starbucks (eastbound only)
Amenities: Travelodge (eastbound only)
Outdoor Space: Grass verges only
Charging Points: westbound only: bp pulse 150kW CCS & 100kW CHAdeMO
Forecourt: westbound only: BP, M&S Food, Wild Bean Café, Free Cash Machine
and eastbound only: Shell, Select, Deli by Shell, Costa Express, Free Cash Machine
Parking Prices
Short stay customer parking is available for all vehicles on both sides.
This information is provided to us by third parties. You should always check with staff on site.
Contact Details
🏢 Address:
Emsworth Service Station
Emsworth By Pass
Emsworth
Hampshire
PO10 7RB
Trivia and History
The M27 was planned to have a motorway service area "near Emsworth", but as this part of the road eventually opened as an A-road in 1988, the government didn't need to plan one.
As it was opening, Norfolk House Group proposed their own dual-sided service area with a filling station and 120-seat Kelly's Kitchen restaurant on either side of the road. The initial proposal was approved in 1989 despite strong opposition from Bosmere 100 and the Emsworth Residents Association. A further proposal from Kelly's Kitchen saw a 40-bed motel proposed to sit alongside the eastbound restaurant, but this was also fought with local protest.
The filling stations were approved, and an eastbound forecourt eventually opened in 1994, branded Total, which was labelled "that wretched petrol station" by residents who continued to fight the restaurant plans. By now Kelly's Kitchen had been taken over by Trusthouse Forte, who had run the Nutbourne branch of Little ChefHistory since the early 1970s. This closed after the new road opened, so Forte were looking for a new site to replace it.
Forte were eventually able to open the Emsworth branch of Little ChefHistory and a Travelodge hotel next to the forecourt in Summer 1994. This Little Chef continued to trade until 31 July 2012 when it was one of many identified as "underperforming" and was closed. Meanwhile, the forecourt was sold to Shell in the same year following Total's nationwide shutdown.
The empty Little Chef restaurant was purchased by 23.5 Degrees who converted it into a Starbucks, which opened on 3 June 2016. 23.5 Degrees were acquired by Starbucks UK in October 2024, with this store being transferred into their company operated estate.
Shell added Budgens branding and products alongside their own Select branding in early 2018. This was removed in early 2025 and replaced with a 'Proud to Stock Co-op' range.
Westbound Opening
While the plan for a corresponding westbound service area had faltered, the demand to build one hadn't gone away. Plans were back on the drawing board in 2005, and in Summer 2013 construction finally began on a large BP forecourt. The site opened on 8 January 2014 as a BP Express site with a M&S Simply Food store and Wild Bean Café.
Two BP Pulse electric vehicle charging points were added to the bp forecourt in 2020.
Alternatives
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| Farlington (5 miles) | Services on the A27 | Stockbridge (westbound, 8 miles) Kingsham (eastbound, 8 miles) |