Stansted services
A120 at the Stansted Airport exit
Signposted from the road.
CM24 1PY
(Google Maps link)
Single site located at a junction.
This is the service station virtually inside Stansted Airport. For the Welcome Break by the large roundabout above the M11, see Birchanger Green.
Stansted services is a small, retail park-style facility surrounded by car parks serving Stansted Airport. It is so close to Birchanger that the signs at the Priory Wood Roundabout give drivers a choice of both services. This place is notorious for its strict parking procedures.
Facilities
Catering: McDonald's Drive Thru, Starbucks Drive Thru Hotel: Holiday Inn Expressbook, Premier Inn Forecourt: BP, M&S Simply Food, Wild Bean Café, Air1 AdBlue, Car Wash, Jet Wash, Free Cash Machine
Parking Prices
Free parking is provided for customers using the facilities only. Owing to the proximity of the airport, rules are very strictly enforced and you should check the signs before leaving your vehicle.
Parking and use of the bp forecourt is limited to 30 minutes maximum stay from entry to exit, whilst parking within the McDonald's and Starbucks car parks are limited to 60 minutes maximum stay. Parking and then walking elsewhere (including walking between Starbucks and McDonald's), or parking outside of a marked bay, will result in a charge ("fine") being issued.
Restrictions and fees at the above locations are strictly enforced by MET Parking.
Parking areas at either the Holiday Inn Express or Premier Inn hotel car parks are both barrier controlled upon entry, and are both subject to their own individual parking charges.
Restrictions and fees within the Premier Inn car park are strictly enforced by YourParkingSpace.
This information is provided to us by third parties. You should always check with staff on site.
Contact Details
🏢 Address:
Thremhall Avenue
London Stansted Airport
Stansted
Essex
CM24 1PY
- 🗺 Grid reference: TL548220
- 📌 what3words: ///classics.symphonic.regulator
🌍 Operators (Official Websites):
Trivia and History
The hotels here are positioned to serve the airport.
The A120 here only opened in 2003, with the land here being identified for future development. The development was called Southgate Park, but this name is rarely used, given the famous airport positioned next door. The service station is also located on airport land, meaning that it can only be accessed by using the private road network around the airport perimeter. Access to the service area is not a public right of way, but it does mean that vehicles working for Stansted Airport, which are subject to different regulations, can access the facilities.
The firs facility to open was a BP forecourt in 2003, as one of their BP Connect sites featuring a Wild Bean Café. This was joined by a Holiday Inn Express to the north in 2004. Surrounding land was then put up to let, with McDonald's purchasing the land to the east of the forecourt and building a drive-thru restaurant in 2008. Plans in 2010 saw the land next to the McDonald's designated for two drive-thru units, labelled as 'Phase 1' and 'Phase 2'. Phase 1 went ahead shortly after gaining planning permission, with a Euro Garages operated Starbucks Drive Thru opening in late 2011. The final piece of land, west of the forecourt, was purchased by Premier Inn in 2011 who opened a 300-bed hotel.
Phase 2 of the drive-thru units still hadn't been built by the mid-2010s, however in 2016 two kiosks were installed in the car park serving street food during the daytime. These were later removed during 2018. In September 2021, a proposal was announced which would see a Taco Bell drive thru restaurant built in this area.
The bp forecourt later gained a M&S Simply Food store in 2014. bp also currently hold planning permission to install six bp pulse electric vehicle chargers here.
Parking Issues
Despite looking like one piece of land, the McDonald's and Starbucks are legally regarded as separate premises. They have separate landowners, but share a common entrance and are enforced by the same company, who insist that they are totally separate car parks and are notorious for charging people for walking between the two.
A 2018 edition of Joe Lycett's Got Your Back investigated the parking situation, in a feature which culminated in a skit that claimed to find an unusual way of evading the cameras.
Alternatives
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| Birchanger Green (2 miles) | Services on the A120 | Great Dunmow (4 miles) |