Sutton Scotney

Sutton Scotney
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Road:	A34 between Winchester and Whitchurch
Address:	Granada Services By-Pass Sutton Scotney Winchester Hampshire SO21 3JY (Google Maps link)
Signposted from the road?	Yes
Opened:	1986
Grid reference:	SU458399
Services type:	Two sites located between junctions, with no public connection between them.

An oversized Little Chef at the bottom of the A34, built as part of a plan for 'bigger things' for motorway services.

Facilities

General: Separate Toilets, Picnic Tables, WiFi
Restaurants: Little Chef, Little Chef Express
Shops: Select (with Costa Express & Deli2Go)
Fuel: Shell (with: Pay at Pump)
Motel: Travelodge^{[book rooms: north south]}

The Shell filling station is open 24hrs

Parking Prices

First two hours free for all vehicles, after which cars must pay £6. Prices can be paid at the pay and display machines in each parking area.

Further information is not available, please update this if you know.

Trivia and History

Little Chef had wanted to move here for a while, to replace a site at Privett which was demolished during roadworks. By the time the plans started to materialise, Little Chef's owners Trusthouse Forte had acquired Welcome Break, so they included a Welcome Break shop, Granary restaurant and separate toilets within their plans for what was now become a large, Forte service area. The services opened in 1986 as a Little Chef but with smaller Welcome Break signs below, and it was supposed to be a sign of grander things for a-road services.

On both sides is an amenity building with three sections: a foyer, shop and toilets in the middle, Little Chef restaurant to the left and Granary to the right. The Granary later became conference facilities.

Changing Owners

When Trusthouse Forte and their owners Granada were forced to sell Welcome Break, Sutton Scotney was one of the few services which didn't need to be sold (as they were only forced to sell motorway sites). Unable to use Welcome Break's branding, Granada took it on as their own and refurbished it to match their own style. This included adding a Burger King to the site in what was the Granary area.

It stayed this way until Granada morphed in to Moto, and Moto handed the site back to Little Chef.

Little Chef

As Little Chef's primary concern is their own restaurant, and they had enough trouble maintaining these during the 2000s, under Little Chef's ownership the site has slowly become more dilapidated. Burger King eventually closed due to low patronage, leaving part of the services disused. In 2012, The Coffee Tempo! here was also replaced with Little Chef Express along with 10 other former Coffee Tempo! sites.

Alternatives

With thanks to Paul Walker for the information used on this page.