Produce-focused service station

A rare breed of motorway services is set to open on the M5.

Dedicated to local food, farming and the surrounding community, the £40 million Gloucester Services project has two main aims; to make local food not just the preserve of elite shops and farmers markets, but accessible and affordable to everyone on the move, and to inject vital investment back into the surrounding community thanks to a business model that is unique on the British motorway network.

The reputation of British service areas is not high: motorists have come to expect chain outlets serving overpriced, mediocre food. Gloucester Services, though, which opens tomorrow (7 May), offers something different - no chains, no franchises, and no fast food on the forecourt.

Instead, among other attractions, there is a farm shop stocked with locally produced food, and a café serving homemade dishes created from locally-sourced produce every day. Gloucester Services works with over 130 local suppliers within 30 miles of the services and 70 producers from across the South West.

And the innovation does not stop there. Thanks to a unique partnership between a Gloucester charity and Gloucester Services, local needy communities are set to benefit for years to come. A proportion of the business' annual turnover, anticipated to be £10 million over 20 years, will be invested primarily into the communities of Matson, Tuffley, Podsmead, White City and Stonehouse.

Sarah Dunning, CEO of Westmorland Family, which owns and operate the services, said: “It’s our approach to food that sets the business apart, we believe proper food matters. So we serve it where you’d least expect it—on the motorway. Quality farm assured food was at the core of my father’s vision when he opened Tebay Services some 40 years ago. Back then it was visionary, today, we’re part of a local food revolution.

“Local food shouldn’t be considered the preserve of a handful of high end shops, it should be at the heart of everything we make and eat. We want to give a sense of place to the traveller - to be able to buy and taste products from the surrounding region. It’s important for us to sell products of Gloucestershire for Gloucester.

“Finding the right producers and working with them to give our customers the best produce and a taste of the surrounding landscape, is fundamental to what we do. Our greatest opportunity is to be able to bring these local products and producers to a much wider audience. In a quiet way, we are continuing the visionary work of my parents who welcomed the motorway to their farm four decades ago.”