Westmorland steps up M5 plans
CUMBRIAN service station group Westmorland has moved a step closer to opening a site on the M5 in Gloucestershire after buying the land.
It has acquired the site in partnership with the charity Gloucestershire Gateway Trust and says the £40m development of services on both sides of the motorway at junctions 11a and 12 will create 300 jobs.
Westmorland’s Tebay Services on the M6 grew out of the family farm and it is the UK’s only family-owned and run motorway services.
The group’s managing director Laurence King said: “We are delighted to have acquired the land for our new Gloucester services and plan to develop the site at the earliest opportunity with a view to being open for business in 2014.”
Law firm Brabners Chaffe Street advised on the land deal, while Preston-based Frank Whittle Partnership is project managing the scheme.
Tony Fitzmaurice, property partner at Brabners Chaffe Street, said: “There are not many places left on the motorway network to develop an innovative scheme like this. Spurred on by the success of Tebay services on the M6, Westmorland has developed a strong business model that supports local producers and the environment.”
The legal team at Brabners Chaffe Street also included construction partner, Ian Hardman and property solicitor, Stuart Speer.
