Guide to Warrington services

⚠️ Please note that this service area is not yet open.

A new motorway service area to be built at J11 of the M62 was approved in May 2022, following a public inquiry. The detailed planning application now rests with Warrington Borough Council.

Extra are using the name Warrington to describe their proposal, despite the existing service area at Burtonwood actually being much closer to Warrington. Locals will know this new site as 'Birchwood'.

The Plan

The junction is on the edge of Warrington and becoming increasingly industrialised. A dual carriageway would run from the roundabout (which would be signalised) down to the service area, before looping around the forecourt. This would replace Sliver Lane and the closed off entrance to Birchwood Way which is currently used mostly for parking and fly-tipping. It used to provide access to a landfill site.

Extra have said their plan will "echo surrounding agricultural buildings". In a statement, they also promised "popular stores and retail outlets such as Leon, PizzaExpress, Greggs, Starbucks, Burger King, McDonald's and WHSmith", with the popular Leeds Skelton Lake being a close approximation. There would be 14 units and kiosks in total, arranged around a tall atrium, with an upper mezzanine floor used mostly by staff. The toilets would be at the back of the building.

There would be a 100-bed hotel next door, with a courtyard and play area in between them, which would be connected to the public footpath. 536 car parking spaces would wrap around the two buildings, with 15 caravan spaces, 15 motorcycle spaces and 105 HGV spaces at the far south end of the site. A diverted stream along the east side would be used as a biodiversity corridor.

Despite the ordinary-sounding layout, the buildings would look nothing like any other service station. They are all inspired by barn architecture, with barn doors, wood inside and out, and dark metal cladding. Extra have described their plan as a "new concept" and "world class" facility, with up to 400 jobs created.

Planning History

Extra announced that they intended to build a service area at Birchwood in late 2018. They argued that it would fill a large gap in existing service area provision, although their evidence used a convoluted route from Birch services to Charnock Richard via Croft. The location was chosen following a study which examined possible locations at M6 J23, M62 J11 and M6 J11A.

The proposal was rejected by councillors in June 2021, largely because it infringes on the green belt with what they argued was a lack of proven need, especially given the addition of the hotel. Extra appealed this decision in January 2022.

Controversially, Warrington Borough Council decided not to defend their decision during the appeal, implying that they didn't think it would stand. Since the application was originally refused, National Highways joined the developer with a 'statement of common ground', in which they urged the decision maker to attach significant weight to the improved road safety. That was a very unusual move for National Highways. The main opposition at this appeal was therefore Extra's rival, Moto.

The appeal ruled in favour of Extra in May 2022. A full reserved matters application was made in September 2024. This used a different layout, with the HGV parking moved south from the centre to the far south, the hotel and the deliveries area swapped, and the coach parking moved from the north end to middle.

Alternatives

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⚠️ The information used on this page is subject to change until the service area officially opens.