Motorway Services Online

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Revision as of 17:57, 6 January 2022

Location:

A299 Thanet Way at Waterham

Signposted from the road.

Postcode:

ME13 9EL

map and directions

Access/Layout:

Two sites located between junctions, with no public connection between them..

A collection of facilities attracted to the Highstreet junction on Thanet Way.

Facilities

Catering: north-eastbound only: Starbucks
and south-westbound only: Costa Coffee, Subway : north-eastbound only: Travelodge Forecourt: north-eastbound only: BP, Budgens, Greggs, Costa Express, Dunkin' Donuts, f'real Milkshakes, Hershey's Freeze, Rollover, Tango Ice Blast, Air1 AdBlue, LPG (FloGas), Free Cash Machine
and south-westbound only: Shell, Select, Deli by Shell, Costa Express, AdBlue Containers

Parking Prices

Short stay customer parking is available for cars. No HGV parking is available.

Parking within the Costa and Subway shared car park is limited to 90 minutes maximum stay and is strictly enforced by Civil Enforcement Ltd whilst parking on the bp forecourt is limited to 30 minutes maximum stay and is strictly enforced.

This information is provided to us by third parties. You should always check with staff on site.

Contact Details

🏢 Address:
Lychgate Service Station
Thanet Way
Faversham
Kent
ME13 9EL

🌍 Operators & Official Websites:

Trivia and History

As the main road to the coast, Thanet Way was an obvious place to build facilities. The westbound petrol station (known as Lychgate) was built in the 1930s, while the eastbound side was built in the 1970s - at the time the road was still single carriageway.

In the 1980s the dual Shell petrol stations gained restaurants: westbound a Little Chef, eastbound a Happy Eater - which would itself also become a Little Chef in 1996. The eastbound Shell forecourt was taken over by George Hammond plc and converted to BP around 2004.

The westbound Little Chef closed in 2008 and became boarded up for a while, eventually reopening after a couple years with a Costa and Subway under the operation of Goldex Investments.

The eastbound Little Chef closed in September 2012 and re-opened as Buffalo Café Diner, but this closed in 2016. Euro Garages shortly purchased the building and opened their 67th Starbucks store here in January 2017.

The eastbound forecourt underwent a full rebuild in August 2013 with an expanded Spar store and Costa Express, which would be later rebranded in February 2019 to Welcome in partnership with Southern Co-op. Café Gusto and Lavazza were later added. As part of MFG's acquisition of George Hammond plc on 30 June 2021, the forecourt was handed over to them with an immediate rebrand of store to Budgens and return of Costa Express. A further interior refurbishment followed in October with Greggs filling the former café.

Alternatives

Previous:		Next:
Medway (M2, 18 miles)	Services on the A299	Minster (19 miles)

@@ Line 53: / Line 53: @@
 As the main road to the coast, Thanet Way was an obvious place to build facilities. The westbound petrol station (known as '''Lychgate''') was built in the 1930s, while the eastbound side was built in the 1970s - at the time the road was still single carriageway.
-In the 1980s the two petrol stations gained restaurants: westbound a [[Little Chef]], eastbound a [[Happy Eater]]. The Happy Eater became a Little Chef in 1996.
+In the 1980s the dual Shell petrol stations gained restaurants: westbound a [[Little Chef]], eastbound a [[Happy Eater]] - which would itself also become a Little Chef in 1996. The eastbound Shell forecourt was taken over by George Hammond plc and converted to BP around 2004.
-The westbound Little Chef closed in 2008 and was boarded up for ages, eventually becoming the Costa and Subway.
+The westbound Little Chef closed in 2008 and became boarded up for a while, eventually reopening after a couple years with a Costa and Subway under the operation of Goldex Investments.
-The eastbound Little Chef closed in September 2012 and re-opened as Buffalo Café Diner, but this closed in 2016. In late 2016, [[Euro Garages]] purchased the building and opened their 67th [[Starbucks]] store here in January 2017.
+The eastbound Little Chef closed in September 2012 and re-opened as Buffalo Café Diner, but this closed in 2016. [[Euro Garages]] shortly purchased the building and opened their 67th [[Starbucks]] store here in January 2017.
-The eastbound forecourt was completely re-built in August 2013. The shop used to be branded [[SPAR]] but was rebranded as Welcome in partnership with Southern Co-op in February 2019.
+The eastbound forecourt underwent a full rebuild in August 2013 with an expanded [[Spar]] store and [[Costa Express]], which would be later rebranded in February 2019 to Welcome in partnership with Southern Co-op. Café Gusto and Lavazza were later added. As part of MFG's acquisition of George Hammond plc on 30 June 2021, the forecourt was handed over to them with an immediate rebrand of store to [[Budgens]] and return of [[Costa Express]]. A further interior refurbishment followed in October with [[Greggs]] filling the former café.
-On 30 June 2021, [[MFG]] acquired George Hammond PLC which saw the eastbound forecourt transfer to their estate. As a result of the acquisition, MFG rebranded the store to [[Budgens]] and reintroduced [[Costa Express]] to the site. MFG then refurbished the interior in October 2021 opening a new [[Greggs]] in the former Cafe Gusto space on 21 October 2021 alongside introducing a number of new grab and go options.
 ==Alternatives==