A Leicestershire motorway is one step closer to getting its first services after a council gave Welcome Break the go ahead. The service area is proposed for land off junction 1 of the M69, with Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council’s plans committee last week awarding planning permission to the part of the scheme that will be on its land.
The site, which is east of Stretton Cross, on Wolvey Road in Burbage, is split across both Hinckley and Bosworth, and Rugby boroughs. At a meeting of the committee, councillors heard Rugby Borough Council is set to approve the rest of the development “shortly". The M69, which was built in 1977, has never had any official services on its 16-mile stretch, meaning drivers have to use services on either the M1 or M6, or leave the road to find facilities in nearby towns and villages.
As part of Welcome Break’s plans, there will be a Starbucks, KFC, Burger King and Pret a Manger, as well as a shop, fuel stations for cars and HGVs, parking for cars, HGVs, coaches and caravans, a drive-thru coffee shop, a gaming zone, and picnic and dog walking facilities. Matthew Grey, an agent who spoke at the meeting on behalf of Welcome Break, said it would be a “comprehensive and modern facility”.
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Councillors at the meeting had mixed feelings over the service station, with many expressing concerns over the impact on the congested A5, where traffic often draws to a standstill when the Watling Street Bridge – the county’s "most bashed" – is struck by a lorry. Council leader Stuart Bray said: “I don’t have a great deal of enthusiasm for this to be honest. Anything that increases congestion in and around the A5 at that area is something we’ve just got to be very mindful of. I’m hoping this won’t do that. I think the positive of it is the lorry driver facilities.”
A number of councillors talked about lorries staying overnight in lay-bys on the A5, with Coun Cathie Gibbons saying there had been “several clear ups needed” as a result. Coun Keith Lynch said he couldn’t “jump for joy over this”, but said, “We desperately need those lorry parking spaces”.
A scheme for a warehouse and offices, approved in 2023 for land at Padge Hall Farm, included a commitment to lower the road under the Watling Street bridge, thereby reducing the amount of HGV accidents. Coun Lynda Hodgkins said she hoped the work would be carried out before the service station was finished. “I can see it causing a problem if not,” she added.
She also welcomed the HGV facilities, saying: "If you come down the A5 it’s absolutely chocka with vehicles on the side of the road up and down.” Before Welcome Break bought the land, planning permission for an earlier scheme was given to Stretton Point Developments to build a smaller "roadside services facility" that would have included a petrol station, drive-thru restaurant and office space.
There have been seven objections to the Welcome Break scheme from people living at seven local addresses, expressing concerns including increased congestion at the A5/M69 roundabout, the loss of economic benefits due to the previously approved office space not being built, and a potential increase in noise, air and light pollution, litter, anti-social behaviour and crime.
The vote to approve the plans was almost unanimous, with only one councillor choosing to abstain.
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