A NEW service station being built at Rugby’s junction with the M6 has been praised by the town’s MP for including 24 electric vehicle charging points.
Mark Pawsey MP visited the site of the new £40million Rugby Services, currently being built at the former New Ash Tree Farm off Leicester Road on the north side of the motorway.
He was given a guided tour by site operations manager Alexandra Purcarea and project manager Wendy Corcoran-Smith.
He said: “I am delighted to see that progress has been able to continue at this new service station despite the challenges of recent months. The site is now nearing completion and will provide a great new resource for those travelling on the M6.
“The site is also particularly good for encouraging the use of electric vehicles thanks to the installation of 24 EV charging points and it’s positioning nearly half way between London and Manchester.
“I was also very impressed at the way in which the site has been developed to retain green spaces and has newly planted trees within the car park and outside the retail area.
“This new site will also be welcome for both HGV drivers and local residents in the north of Rugby, as it will provide a dedicated truck stop. This will mean that there will be a dedicated overnight resting place on the M6, providing an alternative to HGV’s stopping on residential roads or industrial estates near the motorway.
“I know this has been an issue of concern to local residents in recent years and I hope that the new service station will address these concerns.”
An artist’s impression of the services, due to be completed by early 2021.
The Moto services, including a hotel, restaurants, shops, a petrol station and a drive-through coffee shop, will provide 215 permanent jobs when it opens early next year.
Moto said the site’s 100 HGV parking spaces would help ease the problem of lorries parking overnight in lay-bys and on local roads.
But when the scheme was given planning permission by Rugby Borough Council (RBC) in 2017, Coun Bill Lewis – who voted against it – warned it would cause gridlock and ‘misery to Rugby residents’.
He said: “The roads around Rugby are already congested. Heavy trucks which are likely to use the service area will not be confined to those travelling along the M6. The Leicester Road/A426 is already congested, and that situation is likely to become an even greater problem.”
And an objection to the scheme from Warwickshire Police’s Traffic Management Advisor warned unprecedented growth in Rugby and lane closures on Leicester Road were causing congestion and putting pressure on emergency services – adding planning intervention would be needed while the services were being built otherwise ‘we will see the area gridlocked and this will create more misery to Rugby residents’.
There have been delays and overnight road closures around the M6 junction one roundabout since February, when work began to expand it to allow access to the new services.
Five weeks of lane closures at the roundabout are due to finish on November 8. The next phase of overnight road closures are due to take place in November.
Visit www.rugbyservices.co.uk or call highway works enquiries on 0800 148 8911 (office hours only) for more information on the roadworks.
