Birchanger Green

Birchanger Green
Welcome Break
2 more photos in the gallery
Road:	M11 at J8 (also accessible to traffic on the A120 and the B1256)
Address:	Birchanger Green Service Station Dunmow Road Bishop's Stortford Hertfordshire CM23 5QZ
Telephone number:	01279 653388
Signposted from the road?	As Starbucks/Waitrose
Opened:	1995
Grid reference:	TL512215
Services type:	Single site located at a junction.
Visit Birchanger Green/Welcome Break's official website Facebook Page Twitter: @BirchangerGreen

A single service area located at a busy junction at the exit to Stansted Airport. The hotel was recently extended.

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Facilities

General: Picnic Area, BT WiFi, Welcome Break Gaming, Children's Play Area, Traffic Information, Conference Rooms, Showers
Restaurants: Starbucks, Burger King, Eat In, KFC, Papa John's Pizza
Shops: WHSmith (with Krispy Kreme & Costa Express), Fone Bitz, Waitrose
Fuel: Shell (with: Costa Express Autogas LPG)
Motel: Days Inn, Days Hotel

Parking Prices

First two hours free for all vehicles, after which cars must pay £10. Further information is not available, please update this if you know.

Prices can be paid in the shop and restaurant, with instructions in each car park. They are strictly enforced by ParkingEye.

Trivia

It's not clear when Birchanger opened but it was planned as far back as 1981. Several plans were rejected for various reasons until 1990, when on was finally permitted. It is the only service station on the M11, but one at Chigwell was originally proposed near J5, and other plans, particularly Duxford have since been thrown around.

Throughout the late nineties Birchanger Green's junction was heavily congested until major improvement works saw a new junction, J8a, constructed within the existing one to get traffic in and out of Stansted Airport much quicker. It is still a complicated junction, particularly for southbound traffic. In 2010, Welcome Break complained that the new layout made it difficult for traffic to exit the services, creating long delays in the process, and offered to pay to have the majority of services traffic directed at the A120, where it could then join the roundabout with the A120. Their plans were rejected.

The motel at Birchanger is actually cheaper than Stansted's on-site one, and for that reason it is endorsed by several travel advice websites. A 77-bedroom "Days Hotel" was recently added alongside the existing 60-bedroom one as part of a £3m development.

During 2006 a Sainsbury's store was trialled here, but it was removed as it only had a licence for 6 months and hadn't been much of a success. Before opening the store, Welcome Break had to do a lot of negotiating with the Highways Agency who were concerned that the store would lead to local people using the services, making it a destination in its own right. Welcome Break kept using Moto's connection with M&S as a reason for them to open up the store.

The services have a small birdwatching site. When you drive in, the petrol facilities are offered before you reach the amenity building. Normally it's the other way round.

Survey Results

In May 2012 Visit England rated the services as 4 stars. In August 2011, they gave them 3 stars.

In 2008 the services won a five star loo award.

In 2006 and again in 2007, the petrol station's toilets were given a three-star loo award. The services themselves were rated four-star.

Alternatives