Leeds Skelton Lake services
M1 at J45
(also accessible to traffic on the A63)
Signposted from the road.
LS9 0AS
map and directions
Single site located at a junction.
In the middle of the first COVID-19 lockdown, a brand-new motorway service area quietly opened at Leeds Skelton Lake. Over the following summer, more partners slowly moved in, and now the building is catering for both passing motorists and nearby residents.
Facilities
Catering: Benito's, Chopstix Noodle Bar, Greggs, KFC, LEON, McDonald's, Nando's, PizzaExpress, Starbucks, The Good Breakfast, Lavazza 2Go, M&S Coffee to Go Shops: M&S Food, Top Gift, Urban Express Amenities: Ramada, Changing Places, Multi Faith Room, Quicksilver, RSPB Bird Viewing Platform, Showers Outdoor Space: Large walk around back of building with connections to Skelton Country Park; Children's Play Area Charging Points: IONITY 350kW CCS Forecourt: Texaco, SPAR, dailyDeli, Costa Express, f'real Milkshakes, F'wip Frozen Desserts, Tango Ice Blast, Free Cash Machine
Parking Prices
First 3 hours free for all vehicles, after which charges apply:
Up to 4 hours (including free period): £10. Up to 6 hours: £22. Up to 8 hours: £30. Up to 15 hours: £33. Up to 24 hours: £38. Up to 48 hours: £66. Up to 72 hours: £100. Each additional 24 hours or part: £35. Trailer swaps: £15. No return within the remaining 24 hour period.
Prices are paid at the parking machines located in the food court, and can be paid with GBP, EUR or fuel cards.
HGVs can also pay by using SNAP. The location code is 6795.
This information is provided to us by third parties. You should always check with staff on site.
Contact Details
🏢 Address:
Leeds Skelton Lake Services
Lakeside Way
Leeds
LS9 0AS
Trivia and Design
Although Leeds Skelton Lake calls itself a service station, it's documentation made it clear that it intended to attract customers from a new housing estate being built opposite. They have even sent promotional leaflets to nearby residents.
A short-lived change to the planning laws had briefly allowed service stations to do several jobs at once. This relaxed policy was undone soon after Leeds Skelton Lake opened, and while new rules can't be applied retrospectively, it does make for an awkward situation.
Leeds Skelton Lake has also struggled to meet its commitment to offer "hot food at all opening hours for consumption on the premises". Extra's policy of leasing units to operators meant nobody was doing it; motorists were instead directed to the forecourt, which technically could meet this requirement, but some users reported being turned away. Extra insured they were seeking a 24 hour brand partner, which arrived in December 2023 as McDonald's.
This is the only motorway service area to genuinely have two names. Its promoters couldn't decide between 'Leeds' or 'Skelton Lake', so they took both. A combination like that hasn't been seen on a motorway since Washington-Birtley in 1970, and it sounds much more like the name of a railway station than a service station.
GRIDSERVE is planning to build six eHGV charging points here.
Building
Leeds Skelton Lake was the first completely new motorway service area to open for almost six years. Some architectural progress had been made in that time, and the new building took all the successes of Cobham and Beaconsfield and mixed the environmental work done at Gloucester to create what it deemed to be a "new concept". Its natural features like its grass roof, tree-lined approach roads and the access to the lake have become the place's main selling point. The charging points are powered entirely by renewable energy, and there is a wildlife and visitor centre here too.
While it doesn't blend in with its surroundings quite as much as Gloucester does, as Leeds is bigger, busier and more corporate, it still feels much more 'at one with nature' than most service areas. Inside there is a central area with four kiosks, and an additional nine units around it, with a two-storey hotel joined on. Glulam timber louvres furnish the appearance of the green-roofed building, which was designed by Corstorphine + Wright and constructed by Morgan Sindall.
Outside, an RSPB visitor centre provides a viewing platform over Skelton Lake and it links in with Leeds City Council's Aire Valley Green Infrastructure Network.
The building won the Royal Town Planning Institute's National Award for Excellence in Planning for the Natural Environment 2022, as well as the Regional Award for Planning Excellence. The project was praised for its community engagement, with Extra described as a "forward-thinking" client. A press release called it "an iconic gateway to Leeds".
Brand Options
The new brand partners were very similar to what's offered by Welcome Break, with a hint of Roadchef. Many of these units were operated by SSP, including the new retail and takeaway brand Urban Express.
London-based ethical farmers market Sourced Market were included in the launch, which Extra revealed was a partnership inspired by Westmorland, and an unusual feature for a major service area. A Mi Casa Burritos kiosk was supposed to open, but this didn't happen.
As with all motorway service areas, the restaurants at Leeds Skelton Lake offered a number of indoor dining options during the winter 2020 COVID-19 lockdown. At Leeds in particular, this caused considerable tension, with a number of social media users and an online news website claiming that large gatherings of local people and family reunions were taking place here. Others celebrated the opportunity.
Extra did place notices advising that only those making an essential long-distance journey could eat on-site, but there was little they could do to enforce it. In March 2021, Leeds Police began making unannounced visits and advised that anybody who felt the service area offered a loophole in restrictions was mistaken.
The Regus Express meeting room permanently closed in early 2021, having lasted less than six months. That summer, the unused Mi Casa unit became Tortilla.
Sourced Market closed in February 2022 following the company going into liquidation. Welcome Break permanently replaced their Harry Ramsden's unit with The Good Breakfast, a brand it had already been sharing with, in August 2022.
Extra began to shake-up the brand offerings here in late 2023. The Burger King closed in October 2023, being replaced by a 24-hour McDonald's on 22 November 2023. Upper Crust and The Pasty Shop then closed in December 2023 and are set to be replaced by a West Cornwall Pasty Company kiosk and Greggs store respectively, operated by Moto. Greggs opened on 17 May, with West Cornwall Pasty expected to follow in the summer, but this has now been scrapped.
Moto also opened a M&S Food store in the former Sourced Market unit on 13 June 2024, becoming the main retailer at the site, albeit with a distinct change to the Sourced Market ethos.
Tortilla closed during summer 2024 following low trade. This was replaced by the first motorway branch of Benito's on 24 October 2024.
Planning History
The motorway here only opened in 1999, opening a new corridor for development and for service areas. Between 1997 and 2005, Extra had several plans for a service area and a Travelodge here rejected. This had a similar layout but with a smaller building and closer HGV parking. At the time the junction hadn't opened: it had been delayed and didn't open until 2009.
The missing junction was the main reason the service area wasn't built when the Secretary of State was called in to consider five proposed service areas in the Yorkshire area in 2005. He said that there was a "pressing need" for a new service area, and the problem with Skelton Lake (called Skelton Grange at the time) was that it couldn't be built quickly. This, and the fact it was too far south of the existing services, meant the plan was refused even though the Secretary of State was impressed by Skelton Lake's job opportunities and limited environmental damage.
By the time the East Leeds Link Road was finished, Extra were encountering their own financial difficulties and didn't make any proposals.
In Spring 2016, Extra submitted a new £50m plan for a service station here, creating 300 jobs. It was hoped that this would be open by Autumn 2017. They had been, for the previous few years, been fighting for permission to open services down the road at Sheffield too.
In October 2016, the proposals were approved in principle by Leeds City Council. Further approval was granted in March 2018 with an expected opening date in summer 2019. Extra awarded the filling station contract to Jos Richardson and Son, who will operate it as Texaco and SPAR on behalf of Valero, in what Extra called "an important new strategic relationship".
The opening date slipped back several times, with the petrol station finally opening on 30 March 2020. The main facilities remained closed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with the first few facilities in the main building opening on 1 July 2020. As COVID-19 lockdown restrictions eased, more facilities opened during July and August 2020.
Alternatives
| Previous: | Next: | |
| Woolley Edge (13 miles) Hartshead Moor (M62 west, 16 miles) | Services on the M1 | Wetherby (A1(M) north, 17 miles) |
| none nearby | Extra services | none nearby |
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