Motorway Services Online

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Weyhill services

Location:

A303 west of Andover

Signposted from the road.

Postcode:

SP11 8FH

map and directions

Access/Layout:

Two sites located between junctions, with no public connection between them.

Rating:


Weyhill came back to life as a brand new pair of forecourts, with their own looped approach.

Facilities

Catering: Starbucks Drive Thru Outdoor Space: Grass bank around coffee shop (care needed) Charging Points: GeniePoint 50kW CCS, 50kW CHAdeMO & 43kW Type 2 Forecourt: on both sides: BP, SPAR, Greggs, Starbucks on the Go, Free Cash Machine
and eastbound only: Subway, Tango Ice Blast

Parking Prices

First 2 hours free for all vehicles, after which HGVs must pay £10 for 24 hours.

Prices are paid in the SPAR shop.

This information is provided to us by third parties. You should always check with staff on site.

Contact Details

🏢 Address:
Weyhill Service Station
A303
Weyhill
Andover
Hampshire
SP11 8FH


Trivia and History

Weyhill west forecourt.jpg
The abandoned service area, as it looked for many years, pictured in 2010.

Camera icon

Opened as Happy Eater 1986
Re-branded Little Chef 1996
Fire causes serious damage 2004
Site fully abandoned 2005
Reopened by Euro Garages 2018

When the new A303 opened in 1986, plans for a pair of service areas here were put forward.

Both sites opened in the same year and were collectively known as Andover services, with a two-storey Happy Eater restaurant and a Texaco forecourt on each side. There had previously been a service area on the old route of the A303, very close by at Penton Corner, which was built in the late 1960s and closed when the new bypass opened.

There were plans to build a 60-bed Travelodge on the westbound side in 1991, but planning permission was refused. Both forecourts had Star Market stores.

The restaurants were converted to Little Chefs in 1996, becoming the Andover branches. There were plans to replace them with Burger King drive thrus in 2004.

Closure

On 24 February 2004 the eastbound Little ChefHistory suffered severe fire damage after an electrical fire in a light fitting quickly took control of the whole building. Following the fire, the restaurant was closed and abandoned.

Texaco decided to sell their company-owned sites the following year, however a buyer was never found for this location so it closed. Following the loss of the filling station, Little ChefHistory closed the westbound restaurant, leaving both service areas empty.

As it was an online site, they were required to block the slip road to stop the site being abused, and did this by putting a concrete barrier across the exit slip. After some time, the road signs encouraging drivers to take the exit were eventually removed as part of enforcement action by the Highways Agency. The poles were left in place in case it reopened.

Reopening

By 2010 the site was still there, but the eastbound Little Chef had barely survived the fire and the westbound one had been vandalised. There had been interest in building warehouses on the old westbound site.

A new lease of life was given to the sites in 2017 when Euro Garages acquired the site, demolished the abandoned buildings and built Starbucks Drive Thrus and filling stations on both sides of the road.

Work commenced on both sites in late 2017 and, following issues with the slip roads, the new eastbound side eventually opened on 5 September 2018, followed by westbound on 14 September 2018. Both sides opened as a set of BP filling stations with SPAR stores including Greggs and Subway concessions alongside the two Starbucks Drive Thru units. New road signs were provided, confirming that the name is now 'Weyhill services'.

The westbound Subway store was permanently closed during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown.

Both forecourts are set to transfer into the Asda estate in March 2024, with new Asda Express stores launching on the eastbound side on 19 March and the westbound side on 28 March.

Alternatives

Previous:Next:
The Buck (eastbound, 6 miles)
Barton Stacey (westbound, 8 miles)
Services on the A303Solstice (10 miles)

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