Saughall services
M56 at J16
(also accessible to traffic on the A494 and the A540)
Signposted from the road.
CH1 6JS
map and directions
Single site located at a junction.
This used to be the Red Ensign at Wheelspin Roundabout, and it's still there, although the roads around it have all changed.
Facilities
Catering: Starbucks, Subway Outdoor Space: Grass verge only; public footpath connections Forecourt: BP, ASDA Express, Greggs, Starbucks on the Go, Free Cash Machine
Parking Prices
Short-stay customer parking is limited to 2 hours maximum stay across the site. No HGV parking is available.
These restrictions are strictly enforced by ParkingEye.
This information is provided to us by third parties. You should always check with staff on site.
Contact Details
🏢 Address:
Parkgate Road
Saughall
Chester
CH1 6JS
Trivia and History
The M56 arbitrarily ends a very short distance to the east of here, and becomes the A494. This service area is signed from the A494 (in both directions), but it is signed as an A-road service area and the signs are not on the M56 itself. Even so, in practical terms, this service area is positioned at the end of the M56.
This junction used to be a roundabout, with the Red Ensign filling station in one corner. At the time this had access from what was called the A540 and the A550. Behind it, on the A550, were two police houses. The forecourt was originally branded Burmah.
Forte started proposals to replace the two police houses with a Little ChefHistory in 1986. This was officially opened on 14 March 1988 by the Mayor and Mayoress of Chester. The purchase of the police houses included a surplus section of land which was retained by Little Chef and was proposed to be used as additional parking in the mid-1990s, but this plan was refused.
The Little Chef later gained a Burger King in 1999 in a new extension to the existing building. As part of the new totem pole sign for the Burger King, the sign also advertised a Travelodge 12 miles away which roughly works out to be the Travelodge hotel on the A55 at Halkyn.
Following the acquisition of Burmah by BP, the site was rebranded to a Save Service Station in 2001 before quickly being acquired by Euro Garages in 2002. By 2007, they had rebranded the site to Texaco with a SPAR store, later becoming a BP site in 2008.
By 2005, the Burger King had closed to make way for a Coffee Tempo! unit which itself was later closed by the end of the century.
The restaurant lost some visibility when the A550 was replaced by the improved A494, and in line with the general demise of the chain, it closed on 25 September 2012.
After a few years of remaining empty, the former Little Chef restaurant was acquired by Euro Garages in 2015 who turned the former Little Chef space into a Starbucks store and added a Subway franchise to the former Burger King space.
The forecourt sales building was extended in 2017 and was later converted to a Greggs store in early 2020. The store also switched from SPAR branding to Asda Express on 15 November 2023.
Alternatives
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| Chester (M56, 7 miles) | Services on the A494 | Gateway (A55 westbound, 7 miles) Northop Hall (A55 eastbound, 8 miles) |