Tiverton services
M5 at J27
(also accessible to traffic on the A38 and the A361)
Signposted from the road? No (side roads only)
EX16 7HD
map and directions
Single site located at a junction.
A very small service area, designed for traffic on the A38. It is not signed from the M5 but it is directly accessible from J27.
There is no parking for HGVs at the services.
Facilities
Catering: Burger King, Costa Main Amenities: Ecotricity Electric Vehicle Charging Point, Full Hou$e Motel: Travelodgebook Forecourt: BP, Shop, Costa Express, AdBlue Containers
Parking Prices
First two hours free for all vehicles, after which cars must pay £6. Season ticket parking is available. There is no HGV parking at the services.
Prices are paid in the restaurant or using PayByPhone - more details. The location code is 2468.
The fees are strictly enforced by CP Plus.
Contact Details
Address:
Junction 27 Services
Sampford Peverell
Tiverton
Devon
EX16 7HD
- Telephone number: 01884 829423
- Grid reference: ST048138
- what3words: ///speedily.windmill.selects
Trivia and Design
The former tourist information unit, due to become part of the main building in one plan.
At £6, this service area consistently has the cheapest car parking charged at a UK service station, even if it isn't a full motorway service area. This may be connected to the Tiverton Parkway railway station opposite, although the two aren't easy to walk between.
Although parking for lorries and coaches isn't provided (as was often the case at service areas of this design), some lorries do park unofficially on the unclassified road serving it.
History
Leonard Moor Farm was demolished when the motorway was built, leaving only the adjacent Leonard Moor House. In 1978 Farmhouse Inns Ltd wanted to turn this into a restaurant and accommodation. Eventually the whole site was demolished and in 1986 Forte opened one of their small Little Chef-branded service areas, consisting of a Little Chef restaurant, Little Chef Lodge and the forecourt. The restaurant gained a Coffee Stop.
A tourist information centre was soon built next to the restaurant. In 1993, Forte suggested filling in the gap between the Little Chef and the tourist information centre, creating one large building. A new coach park, caravan park and overflow car park would have been built to the east of the site, with the local road diverting around it. Access would have been provided from a new roundabout on the A38. Forte withdrew the plan.
In 1995 Forte's properties were acquired by Granada. Granada added a Burger King to the restaurant and kept working on the expansion plans.
In 2000, planning permission had been granted for a motorway service area at both here Tiverton (referred to throughout as Burlescombe) and at Cullompton. Highways Agency policy would only allow one of these to be signposted from the motorway, so they reached a compromise: Cullompton would be signed from the M5 northbound, and Tiverton from the M5 southbound. This would mean only the east side of M5 J27 would need to be given traffic lights.
Moto era
At this point Granada became Moto, who inherited the plans. The plan Moto came up with would have taken the existing Little Chef, and expanded it westwards. The two restaurants would have stayed where they were, with a new entrance by the Burger King, leading to a walkway past the game arcade to the shop. The toilets would have been by the side of the shop, and a new seating area to the side of those, with Caffe Ritazza and Upper Crust stands, joining to the existing Little Chef seating area. New parking areas would have been provided, with an entrance from a new roundabout on the A38 and an exit to a diverted path of the existing country lane. This plan was approved.
In 2005, another proposal was put forward. This kept a similar external layout, but both the Little Chef and the tourist information buildings would have been demolished. The new building would have been shaped like a shed, with timber cladding and glass over the entrances at each end. Inside there would have been a Burger King, a shop, a game arcade and toilets, with offices on the upstairs balcony. This plan was approved but wasn't built.
In 2008, Moto replaced the Little Chef with Costa, a change they were making across their estate. The tourist information centre was closed.
In 2009 another operator attempted to build a full motorway service area opposite the junction, with the aim being to create a gateway to Mid Devon called 'Junction 27'. The plan had to be scaled down to become a rest area as the existing service area complained it would take traffic from their site, even though the developer claimed they were after different markets and Tiverton could benefit from the increased traffic (the two sites would have been connected).
The plans were later rejected altogether as the council weren't interested in what they called a "half-measure", and they wanted something bigger to relieve congestion at Cullompton.
The filling station here was branded and operated by Shell for some time until 2019 when Moto bought the forecourt from Shell and rebranded the site to their standard partner brand BP. This is now the first time since the service area opened that the site is now owned and operated by one sole owner.
Alternatives
| Previous: | Next: | |
| Taunton Deane (10 miles) | Services on the M5 | Cullompton (4 miles) |
| Woodside (10 miles) | Services on the A361 | end of road |
| Bridgwater (22 miles) | Moto services | Exeter (16 miles) |
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