. . . as Granada opens on M40
GRANADA last week opened a £20m motorway service station at junction 10 of the M40 near Banbury, Oxfordshire - previously the UK's longest stretch of motorway without a service area.
The 56-acre Cherwell Valley service area was completed two months ahead of schedule, although it is eight years since the site was first identified for development.
To fulfil planning requirements, Granada has preserved the rural nature of the 56-acre site. It has spent £650,000 planting 120,000 trees, renovating a stream and introducing a woodland management scheme.
Facilities include a 350-seat Granada Restaurant, a Burger King, shops, toilets and showers and a 64-bedroom Granada Lodge. There is also an outside children's play area and picnic site.
The company described Cherwell as its "jewel in the crown" and a blueprint for the future of its motorway services. Charles Allen, chairman of Granada's leisure division, said it had set "a standard that others will strive to emulate".
Next year, a £30m Granada service area is scheduled to open on the M4 near Reading in Berkshire and a number of other potential sites around the country are at either the planning or appeal stage.
