Reading: Difference between revisions
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{{Services | {{Services | ||
|type = motorway | |type = motorway | ||
|image = Reading West | |image = Reading West 2020.jpg | ||
|operator = Moto | |operator = Moto | ||
|road = [[M4]] between J11 and J12 | |road = [[M4]] between J11 and J12 | ||
Revision as of 16:08, 21 February 2020
M4 between J11 and J12
Signposted from the road.
RG30 3UQ
map and directions
Two sites located between junctions, with no public connection between them..
Once one the M4's big retailing services, Reading retains its atriums on either side of the road.
Facilities
Catering: on both sides: Burger King, Chow, Costa Coffee, Greggs, West Cornwall Pasty Co., Costa Express, Krispy Kreme, Costa Drive Thru
plus westbound only: El Mexicana, KFC, M&S Coffee to Go
Shops: M&S Simply Food, WHSmith
Amenities: on both sides: Dog Walking Area, Template:Electric Car, Full Hou$e, Lucky Coin, Showers
plus westbound only: Children's Play Area
and eastbound only: Template:Moto Meetings
: Travelodge
Forecourt: BP, Shop, Wild Bean Café, Air1 AdBlue
Parking Prices
First two hours free for all vehicles, after which cars must pay £15 and HGVs, caravans and motorhomes £30.50. HGVs can pay £32.50 to include a £10 food voucher.
Prices are paid using PayByPhone - more details. The location code is 2457 (westbound) and 2456 (eastbound).
The fees are strictly enforced by CP Plus.
Contact Details
🏢 Address:
Reading Motorway Service Area
Burghfield
Reading
Berkshire
RG30 3UQ
- 🌍 Official Moto/Reading Westbound Website
- Official Moto/Reading Eastbound Website
- Foursquare Page
- 📞 Telephone number: 0118 956 6966
Trivia and History
The original core of the building was the atrium - it's now all extended outwards.
In Spring 2017, Transport Focus calculated a 100% satisfaction score for the westbound services and 96% for the eastbound services. This made the westbound services one of the country's top two. By 2019, westbound had fallen to 84%, with eastbound on 90%.
Planning
When the M4 was being planned in the 1960s, there was going to be a service station at Warren Copse, near Maidenhead. This hit a number of planning issues that threatened to delay the whole M4 project, so it was agreed that the service area would be pursued separately. There was also talk about additional services near Theale.
The M4 opened with a large gap between services - 55 miles between Heston and Membury - but the authorities continued to fail to agree on where the missing service area should be placed. In 1986, after 20 years of debate, the Department of Transport insisted that they were investigating a new service area "in the Reading area".
In 1987, Mobil made a plan for Reading services as we know it, on an old landfill site. This was rejected because the Department of Transport were still insisting that they had the issue in hand. The plan had sliproads at the western end, with an amenity building in the middle. It came with an alternative option which involved building on the westbound side only, with a flyover allowing eastbound traffic to use it.
In 1992 the Department of Transport ceased all involvement in service area planning. As a result, Mobil were free to develop their plan, and chose to lease the site to Granada as the operator of the main facilities. Their next plan had the westbound amenity building positioned further from the road, with both car parks being west of their respective amenity buildings and the motel to the west of that. This was revised to the present layout before construction started.
In the 1990s there were vague plans to widen the M4. As a result, the development deliberately left a 67 metre gap between the motorway and any construction, to allow space for whatever new road layout would be chosen. The sliproads were positioned so that they could easily be realigned to meet a new motorway. This space is best seen in an aerial photo.
Reading opened in 1995. Each side had a glass pyramid entrance, painted dark red. This design survives on the westbound side but with new signage and colours. The main part of each building was a circle with low, wide windows. Parking was charged at £5 for cars, £8 for HGVs and a £25 fine for anybody who was caught leaving their vehicle overnight without paying.
Extensions and Branding
The original layout of both buildings took the form of a simple atrium, with a free-flow Granada Restaurant, a Burger King, a short corridor leading to the toilets, the arcade and a shop all located around it. The eastbound side soon gained a Granada Lodge too.
The first change came in 1997, when Granada added a Little Chef restaurant, their new acquisition, to the end of both toilets corridors. Granada's plan was to use the Little Chef to allow them to close the main restaurant in the evenings. The westbound Travelodge was built at the same time.
In 1998, following their merger, Mobil's petrol station branding was changed to BP Express.
In 1999 there was a plan to turn Reading westbound into a test case for a business centre. This took the form of a large coffee lounge, described as "an airport lounge for motorists". It would have been built in the gap between the main atrium and the hotel, and was a legacy of Pentagram's plan to turn Granada around.
At the same time, Granada chose both sides of Reading to become examples of their mini shopping centre sites. Five retail units would be added to the front of each building, including a Ladbrokes. Only the eastbound side was built. One possible reason for this was confusion about what the maximum permitted size of a shopping centre at a service station was: the Highways Agency said it was 5,000sq ft overall, but Granada insisted it should be interpreted as 5,000sq ft per side. They also looked at adding a Granada 2Go takeaway unit to the front of each building, but neither of these were built.
In around 2001 a Burger King drive thru was going to be added to the petrol station, like at Stafford (North), but the plan was withdrawn.
In 2002 the area designated for the eastbound Little Chef became a BT Workspace. It was the sequel to the coffee lounge idea, and boasted contemporary perks of the time such as a phone and internet connection. They also looked at moving Ladbrokes to a separate building, but this wasn't built.
In 2006 there were plans for the Fresh Express to be branded 'Real Food Company'. A change of owners meant that was halted, and EDC was launched instead.
In 2016 the westbound service area were refurbished. The former Upper Crust was replaced by an extended Costa, while Arlo's, Chow and El Mexicana replaced the westbound EDC. In summer 2016, BP refurbished their Wild Bean Cafés to their latest style, closing their M&S stores in the process.
At the start of April 2017, the eastbound side gained Moto's first Costa Drive Thru, which was built by moving the caravan parking. A westbound one was later built. In December 2017, a new Chow opened within part of EDC's servery, making EDC a lot smaller.
In May 2019, the westbound Arlo's closed to make way for a new KFC unit which opened on 1 July 2019. The Chow unit opened as Breakfast @ Arlo's at 6am and begins to serve the Chow menu at lunchtime.
While a Greggs has been built outside, from the outside the westbound building is still close to its original design.
In late 2019, the tiny eastbound EDC counter closed. The westbound Breakfast @ Arlo's soon followed this and closed in December 2019 in favour of fast food options.
Alternatives
| Previous: | Next: | |
| Heston (32 miles) South Mimms (M25 north, 54 miles) Cobham (M25 south, 45 miles) Toddington (M1 north, 63 miles) | Services on the M4 | Chieveley (12 miles) |
| Heston (32 miles) Toddington (M1 north, 63 miles) | Moto services | Chieveley (12 miles) |
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