History of Chieveley services
The M4 and the large roundabout at Chieveley opened in 1971. This involved diverting the A34 around Chieveley Riding School and the cottages on what used to be called Bird's Lane (now Oxford Road), and doing that divided a field into two. The field was already ruined, firstly by the new road and secondly because the remaining land had been used as a compound during the motorway construction. There were now a whole host of new opportunities.
At the time, the government was responsible for planning motorway service area locations. They wanted to build one near M4 J12 at Theale, and one just west of here, at Winterbourne, but planning issues meant that no progress had been made. As a result, many drivers, especially lorries, were leaving the motorway at Chieveley and looking for somewhere to stop.
Meanwhile, with the A34 about to gain new bypasses such as at Donnington and Chieveley villages, drivers there would be looking for places to stop too. Residents of Bird's Lane were being hassled by motorists asking for assistance, the field in question was being used illegally by food vans, and people in Newbury (which the A34 still ran through the middle of) were getting fed up of lorries parking up anywhere they could.
The need for a new facility was evident. The government's position was that they were working on new service areas for the M4, while issues with the A34 were a local issue for the local council to deal with.
Early Proposals
See also: A34 Planning Applications
The first formal proposal for a service station was made in 1975 by a local developer, who presumably was the landowner whose field had been bisected. The paperwork explains that the new facility would be occupied by "Esso and others". This was on the southbound side and showed a petrol station, car park and a "two tier" catering building next to the road. Behind it was a lorry park, a breakdown yard and an overnight caravan park. The petrol station would have been - very roughly - where the main Chieveley building is today.
In this particular case there was no plan to build a northbound counterpart. There are two key things to remember about that: firstly, this was supposed to be a solution to the problems with the A34, not a solution to the government's problems with the M4. Secondly, at this stage the A34 had frequent gaps in its central reservation, and people could easily turn around if they needed to head back the other way.
The plan was described as "premature" because a comprehensive review of facilities on the A34 was due, and some of the local bypasses hadn't yet opened. In addition, this part of the A34 was supposed to be fast and rural. The decision was appealed and would be taken to a public inquiry.
The second known drawing of Chieveley was from the same developer, with Esso name-checked again. It was dated 1976 and involved both sides of the road. The northbound side had a Little Chef, a car park and a petrol station. These would be accessed from Bird's Lane, as with all the northbound proposals. The southbound side had a combined Little Chef and transport café, a car park, lorry park, caravan park, a petrol station, and a motel with its own restaurant and conference suite. The Little Chef and petrol station were positioned close to the road while the other facilities were further back.
The tie-in with Little Chef from an independent developer was especially unusual. It suggests the two were in advanced talks, and that Little Chef were among the mysterious "others" alluded to in the paperwork. The plan was rejected for the same reasons as before, but the district council added that the proposal had only consisted of a petrol station and toilets, it was likely to have been "considered favourably". As it stood, they called it "excessive", as it duplicated what was already available in Newbury.
Alternative Option
The third, known, formal plan was dated 1977. It again comes from the landowner and, perhaps inspired by the advice from Newbury District Council, this one shows a slight change in thought process. It had a petrol station and small car park on either side of the road. This would have left a lot of space on the larger southbound side, so the plan also gave it a large lorry park with a hostel, and a large caravan park and picnic area.
A variation of that option was produced a month later, which consisted of the petrol stations only, with plenty of space left empty on the southbound side for a mysterious "future development".
When asked who would be providing the facilities, the developer simply said, "not decided". One district councillor was very supportive of the proposal, explaining that more HGV parking was desperately needed in the area and "it would be very stupid to turn him down". However the Department of the Environment rejected the first option, saying that it would compromise the traffic flow on the new A34. As a testament to how difficult working with planning authorities can be, the second option, which was exactly what Newbury District Council had previously said would be viewed "favourably", was rejected because Newbury District Council wanted to keep this area rural and were still waiting for advice on what facilities the A34 needed.
In addition, we understand that the Department of the Environment were unhappy that the shape of the land meant the southbound service area was going to have to be much bigger than the northbound service area. They thought this was illogical, and could lead to better facilities (and therefore more traffic) on the bigger side.
New Leasing Company
In 1978, a new name came to attention. The landowner leased the field to a new company which he owned, named 'Newbury Interchange Limited'. This curiously-named company wanted to close the deal on the situation. A few years later they revealed that they had been in detailed talks with three potential operators, and that they would be making their preference known soon.
Evidence of progress can be seen in the next plan. Dated 1981, it has Trusthouse Forte's name written not just deep within the documentation, but proudly written across the top of the map. The detailed plan showed two sites linked by a pedestrian footbridge - the only time we've ever seen one proposed at Chieveley. The northbound side had a Little Chef and shop, as well as a car park, lorry park and petrol station. The southbound side had a Julie's Pantry and shop, a car park, coach park, a bigger lorry park and a picnic area.
The southbound building was roughly where the petrol station is today, while the northbound side continued to make use of the Bird's Lane turning. All of the plans submitted involved upgrading the Bird's Lane turning, but this one seemed to be particularly keen to ensure people travelling south had the option to turn right into the Little Chef, which would be a cause of concern from the Department of Transport who were starting a slow policy of removing all those right turns.
To the best of our knowledge, this plan was never formally submitted.
Granada Plan
Council Director, 1985
The breakthrough came in 1985. Granada submitted a planning application, and it was approved! It was only an outline application, and it covered the eastern side of the site only, which had previously been known as the 'southbound services'. An earlier (1984) drawing suggested the northbound side could have a very small petrol station, but that area was now described as "phase 2" and left empty for future use.
There had been an issue with lorry parking. Newbury District Council wanted a large lorry park to solve their issues once and for all, and insisted it was twice as large as what Granada had been planning to make it.
It was also the first time the idea of a link road from the service area back to the roundabout had been considered. To help resolve the lorry parking issue, Newbury District Council suggested the Department of Transport allow a new roundabout to be built on the main A34, which would allow traffic from the M4 to use the service area. The DoT said no, and that if right turns were to be permitted, it would have to be via a new flyover. Granada said they wouldn't be prepared to fund that, but were eventually convinced to purchase a section of land to build a long link road instead. This was made possible because the motorway slip road already had a junction with the works unit.
Berkshire County Council Landscape Consultant, 1986
After receiving a nod of approval, Granada agreed to lease the land from Newbury Interchange Limited, and finalised their plans. Granada placed a billboard in both the north and the southbound fields announcing that facilities would be open in Summer 1986. It officially opened on 27 June 1986.
The amenity building was a pyramid shape with a glass dome to bring light into the centre of the building. As you walked through the entrance, there was a Burger Express on the left, and a Granada Shop on the right. Behind these was the main mall, with a game arcade and kiosk on the left, and toilets on the right. The Country Kitchen Restaurant was at the back, and initially it was separated from the atrium by a wall and doors. Fuel was provided by Mobil.
Parking for stays over two hours was charged at £2 for cars, £3.50 for caravans and £5 for lorries. A £25 parking fine was charged by the patrol officer for those who parked all day without paying.
Drawings of some of the signs welcomed customers to "Granada Newbury". Granada's publicity called it 'Newbury (Chieveley)' both in leaflets and on billboards, and they did it until as recently as 1996. It's not clear whether the Newbury name was ever actually used in the service area, but that seems likely.
Northbound Rivals
If developments seem strange and confused so far, it was about to get a whole lot worse.
A director at Newbury District Council revealed that a few years previous, he became aware that Granada had taken the position that building on both sides of the A34 at Chieveley was "not viable". Their explanation was that expanding the lorry park had pushed the cost up from £2million to £5million, an incredible increase, unless the figure includes the cost of acquiring the land for the link road.
This would better explain the conversations with the Department of Transport mentioned above: if Granada were only interested in building the southbound service area, a new roundabout would have allowed A34 traffic on both sides to use it, and naturally the DoT would have preferred a flyover.
Granada's solicitor, 1985
In June 1985, CTI Developments submitted their own plan to build a petrol station, hotel and Happy Eater on the northbound side of the A34. There were also rumours that Trusthouse Forte would be submitting another plan to build a restaurant, hotel and petrol station on the same piece of land. A few weeks later, Granada made a formal request for planning permission to build a petrol station on the northbound side of the A34 opposite Chieveley. Their plan had no car parking, and used only a small corner of the field. They added that they were considering building a footbridge between the two sides.
Granada's planning application was accompanied by several letters. Granada weren't happy that their new development at Chieveley could have been about to be compromised by one of their arch nemeses. They argued that the possibility of having competition next door was giving them second thoughts about Chieveley - potentially causing Newbury District Council to lose the lorry park they had been fighting for.
The Forte plan was quickly rejected because it was too constrained, while the Granada and CTI plans would have been approved if they had upgraded the exit to Bird's Lane, which would have been the entrance to either development.
The question is were Granada genuinely interested in building the second Chieveley, or did they just want to be seen to be defending their business? Their planning application was submitted very quickly, suggesting they had already been working on it. However, it was a remarkable turn around from their previous position that one expensive service area would be enough, and their correspondence does tell us that they were riled by the potential competition.
The position of the built half of Chieveley did present a weakness, with one survey finding that 7.9% of A34 southbound drivers were stopping there, while only 4.3% of northbound drivers were willing to turn around at the roundabout and stop there.
By total coincidence, in 1989 Stakis Hotels agreed to improve the Bird's Lane junction by closing the right turn, as part of their hotel development. Granada would have needed to apply again, but it's reasonable to assume that their plan would now get the green light. Would they go for it? It turns out it didn't matter, because of what happened next.
Junction Improvement
The government white paper of 1989 included plans to upgrade the A34 at Newbury. By 1992 at the latest, we knew that this plan involved diverting the A34 to the west of the Chieveley Roundabout. All of the land which the potential northbound service area would have been built on was now going to be occupied by a new roundabout. A small part of the built service area and Stakis Hotels car park would be taken too.
The original plan for this junction improvement was broadly the same as what was eventually built. The southbound exit into the service area would have led down to one of the roundabouts, while a new road would run from there to the service area car park. Access to Chieveley services from the northbound side would be made via an underpass, which meant the Department of Transport would finally be getting the flyover they had been asking for.
Work on the new junction was completed in 2004. One of the original 'Services' signs remains on the exit from the A34 southbound. Initially traffic leaving the service area to head back to the M4 or A34 northbound had the option of using either the old link road or the new underpass. The old link road was causing issues for traffic leaving the M4, so it was eventually closed and turned into additional lorry parking. The works unit exit was moved at the same time.
Signage Confusion
Newbury District Council, 1985
The first plans for Chieveley made it very clear that it was a plan for an A-road service area on the A34. The fact that it was next to the M4, which desperately needed another service area, was a mere coincidence. When it opened, some signs were placed on the M4 as a temporary measure until the M4 had more service areas. This constitutes a stealth service area, as motorway services needed formal approval at the time and Chieveley didn't have it but managed to get signs anyway.
It's not clear whether Granada had been banking on getting away with the extra signage all along. Further along the M4 at Heston, Granada placed a billboard that told passing motorists that "Granada Newbury (Chieveley)" was only 46 miles away, although this was an advertising billboard rather than a motorway sign.
When the M4 gained a new service area at Reading, most of Chieveley's signs were taken down. Official notes stated that "Reading has replaced Chieveley". When that situation was next reviewed, the Highways Agency argued that the junction was too congested and couldn't handle the extra traffic heading for the service area. When the roundabout was improved, new signs were placed on the M4 westbound. Changes to the regulations meant that existing service areas could now apply to be signed from the motorway.
Signs were eventually updated on the M4 eastbound in Summer 2023, with new advanced signs installed.
A 2001 study found that just 2-3% of traffic on the M4 was turning off for Chieveley. The limited signage would have influenced this extremely low figure.
Changes
The Travelodge at Chieveley, and the long stay car park behind it, were built on a separate field which was left out in the original planning permission. This can be seen by the way they seem to be totally detached from the rest of the complex. This lodge started as a plan for a Granada Lodge in 1986, and was then proposed to be a more upmarket Granada Hotel. It didn't open until some time later.
In the early 1990s there was a small extension to the front of the building, creating some more seating and a larger shop. The business centre became a second games arcade. The restaurant gained a wider entrance and became Fresh Express, later joined by Caffè Ritazza.
In 1997, Granada trialled a new shop format here, which they named simply The Shop.
The petrol station changed to BP branding in 2000. It is very old by their standards. In 1997 there was a plan to build a new petrol station where the lorry park is. Artists' impressions showed the new petrol station being covered in Granada branding (as opposed to Mobil or BP - a very 1970s concept), and advertising Pizza Hut, Burger King, La Brioche Doree, Kenco, Dunkin' Donuts, Blimpie and Fresh Express. It's not thought Granada ever built a petrol station like this.
In 2000, Granada wanted to continue to turn their service areas into small shopping centres. At Chieveley, their plan was to build a new entrance to the right of the existing one, which would then take visitors past five shops before arriving in the restaurant area. This wasn't built.
In 2004 one additional retail unit was built on the picnic area by the side of the service area. This became a Ladbrokes. A Greggs was built next door in 2013. The Ladbrokes closed in summer 2019.
An internal rearrangement later saw the Burger King move into the newer games arcade, with the old Burger King becoming M&S Simply Food. Costa and West Cornwall Pasty Co were provided in kiosks at the front of the building, the Fresh Express and Caffè Ritazza pairing in the restaurant became EDC and Costa, and a new Costa stand was added.
On 23 March 2015, the restaurant was totally refurbished to become a trial for the brand new Arlo's. It replaced the servery layout with a much smaller counter in the middle of the seating area, leaving more space for coffee customers. This brand was later used at other Moto service area.
The Arlo's brand declined, and all branches closed except for Chieveley, where Arlo's occupied a lot of space. The Chieveley branch eventually closed during the COVID-19 lockdown, and didn't reopen. The former Arlo's restaurant area was eventually turned into a Pret A Manger store, which opened on 30 March 2023. The Costa store also received a refurbishment in March 2023 as a result of the works.
In the longer term, they are working on a proposal to fully redevelop the site, to provide a larger capacity and more modern facilities.
Planning permission was refused for a Costa Drive Thru in 2019. It was to be built on the exit road, but the local authority claiming it would have an adverse impact on the local environment.
Other Developments
In 1986, Newbury Interchange Limited wanted to erect a tall sculpture by the link road, which they called "The Chieveley Flyer". No reason was given for its significance, but it wasn't built.
Stakis Hotel purchased the land formally used by Chieveley Riding School. Their development became the Hilton Hotel in 2000. At the time it had the Bird's Lane exit to itself, but now it shares the underpass with the main Chieveley services. As a result, signs need to differentiate between the Hilton and the service area hotel, and use the generic term "Hotels" when referring to them both.
In 1987, Newbury Interchange Limited wanted to build an upmarket hotel to the south of the service area. Access would have been provided from a new roundabout on the link road. It's not clear if it would have become the Granada Hotel, or an unrelated brand.
One of the fields adjoining the service area, which had a gate joining on to the link road, was turned into quarry. This was one of the factors in the direct exit to the M4 being closed.
Since the A34 was diverted, there have been many changes to the southbound entry to the service area, suggesting there are now many issues with people accidentally entering the works unit. This didn't seem to be a problem until the roundabout was bypassed, even though the entry was substantially unchanged. Changes have included the widening of the road, temporary signage and signs forbidding U-turns.