Thurrock services is a

motorway service station Motorway service areas in the United Kingdom and Ireland, also known as services or service stations, are rest areas where drivers can leave a motorway to refuel/recharge, rest, eat and drink, shop or stay in an on-site overnight hotel. The vas ...

Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authority area with borough status and unparished area in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

, serving the M25 motorway, and the Dartford Crossing (A282). It was planned in the mid-1980s and opened after the M25 was completed. Originally popular, the services have gradually deteriorated and have attracted criticism for poor facilities. They have also been a magnet for drug trafficking and other criminal activities.

Location

The service area, owned by Moto, is accessible from junction 30 and 31 of the M25 motorway. Amenities include a

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hotel. The main entrance leads onto a first floor concourse containing shops and food services. The toilets are located on the ground floor. Part of the service station overlooks a lake, which was constructed from a former gravel pit.

History

The site was offered for sale by the landowner to Granada (now

Moto Hospitality Moto Hospitality, branded as Moto, is a British service station operator which operates 59 motorway service stations across the United Kingdom. It is currently the UK's largest service area operator. History Operations (2001–2020) Granada ...

) in 1976. The area was used for heavy industry and included several pylons,

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and industrial sheds. The land had been used for landfill waste, leading to concerns about a

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methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Ea ...

underneath any development. The sale did not go ahead, but in 1986 the

Department of Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...

announced that bids would be considered for a site next to M25 junction 31. Granada announced the following year they intended to build the services, but Esso won the construction contract. Work began in 1988, but was delayed by an objection to the building design from the local planning authority. The services opened in 1990.

Criticism

The services were popular when opened, and did not attract attention, but gradually deteriorated and were criticised. In 2018, a

Transport Focus Transport Focus is the statutory watchdog for transport passengers and road users in Great Britain, with offices in London and Manchester. It was named the Rail Passengers Council until January 2006 when renamed Passenger Focus. It was renamed ag ...

survey of 9,600 motorway service users ranked Thurrock as the worst service area in England, with only 68% reporting a satisfactory experience. Problems included a lack of working toilet facilities, queues for showers, no

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and food not kept properly refrigerated. Thurrock was found to be the most improved motorway service area in the 2019 edition of the survey.

Crime

The services have been used as an exchange point for illegal drug dealing. A representative from

HM Customs and Excise HM Customs and Excise (properly known as Her Majesty's Customs and Excise at the time of its dissolution) was a department of the British Government formed in 1909 by the merger of HM Customs and HM Excise; its primary responsibility was t ...

said its location next to a major motorway providing access to cross-channel ports and the rest of the UK made it an ideal meeting point for traffickers. In 1998, of heroin was recovered from a van trying to breach a police cordon at the premises. In 2001, heroin valued at £8m was seized following an armed police operation. Two years later, a five-man trafficking team was captured on closed-circuit television; they were subsequently arrested and imprisoned for attempting to distribute £2.6m worth of

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

. In 2010, a sting operation resulted in several arrests for theft, possession of drugs, carrying offensive weapons and driving without tax and insurance and 32 vehicles were impounded.

References

{{UK Motorway Service Stations M25 motorway service stations Moto motorway service stations Transport in Thurrock Buildings and structures in Thurrock