Red Post services
(former)
Road: | A31 at Bere Regis (Google Maps link) |
Address: | Red Post Service Station Main Road Winterborne Zelston Blandford Forum Dorset DT11 9EX |
Signposted from the road? | Yes |
Opened: | 1985 |
Closed: | 2019 |
Previous names: | Bere Regis |
Grid reference: | SY893973 (SABRE Maps) |
Services type: | Single site located between junctions at the side of the road. |
This former Little Chef branch survived until the end, but has been slowly wound down since.
Facilities
Catering: Little Chef, Subway Forecourt: BP, Londis, Tchibo
Trivia and History
Red Post is a road junction just west of here, named after its red fingerpost. A property called Red Post Bungalow was built next to the A31, and then a workshop was built next to it in 1978.
In 1981 there were plans to build a petrol station and a restaurant here. The petrol station opened first, and a Happy Eater opened in 1985. This became the Bere Regis branch of Little ChefHistory in 1996, which gained a Subway franchise in 2014.
In January 2018 the Little Chef had to be converted to EG Diner after the new owners lost the rights to the name. The restaurant closed in summer of 2018 with no plans to replace it.
Following the closure of the restaurant, the petrol station followed shortly behind in late 2018 when it closed. It had been previously been branded BP and Total in the past. The Subway then closed on 12 March 2019 at 3pm leaving the site abandoned.
The forecourt is now used by a takeaway bar, which brands itself as "food to go".
In August 2020, EG Group submitted plans to redevelop the site. As part of the plans, the current forecourt and former Little Chef restaurant will both be demolished and replaced with a new forecourt with a larger shop building filling the space which is currently occupied by the former Little Chef as well as a Starbucks Drive Thru being built on the current car park. The planning decision is currently ongoing.
The Ordnance Survey continues to show Red Post as an active service area, named 'Bere Regis'.
Alternatives
Previous: | Next: | |
Picket Post (21 miles) | Services on the A31 | Kilmington Cross (A35 west, 44 miles) |