Frankley 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 ...

on the

M5 motorway The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...

between Junctions 3 (A456, Quinton Interchange) and 4 (A38, Lydiate Ash), near

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, and taking its name from the nearby village of

Frankley Frankley is a village and civil parish in Worcestershire. The modern Frankley estate is part of the New Frankley civil parish in Birmingham, and has been part of the city since 1995. The parish has a population of 122. History Frankley is li ...

History

It is owned by Moto. It was one of the first service stations of its kind when it was opened in 1966 by Granada Motorway Services to serve the new motorway which by 1977 gave the Midlands an unbroken motorway link with

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. The £612,000 contract for the site was awarded on 22 December 1964 to

Higgs and Hill Higgs and Hill was a major British construction company responsible for construction of many well-known buildings in London. History The company was established in 1874 by the merger of the firm of Thomas Hill (managed by Rowland and Joseph Hill ...

. It was planned to be finished by the end of 1965. It was Granada's second motorway service station, after

Toddington Toddington could be *Toddington, Bedfordshire **Toddington services, M1 motorway *Toddington, Gloucestershire **Toddington railway station Toddington railway station serves the village of Toddington in Gloucestershire, England. Since 1984 it h ...

; its third would be

Heston Heston is a suburban area and part of the Hounslow district in the London Borough of Hounslow. The residential settlement covers a slightly smaller area than its predecessor farming village, 10.8 miles (17.4 km) west south-west of Charing ...

in 1968. There would be room for 640 people in the restaurants, and 300 parking spaces. The 2019 Motorway Services User Survey found that Frankley's southbound side was in the bottom five motorway services in the UK for customer satisfaction.

Structure

It has been updated over the years and fitted with new retail and fast food outlets, but the original building remains intact. It is in

Bromsgrove District Bromsgrove is a Districts of England, local government district in Worcestershire, England. Its council is based in the town of Bromsgrove. It borders the built up area of Birmingham to the north. Other places in the district include Alvechu ...

; it marks the northernmost point of the M5 in Worcestershire; to the north is the

Metropolitan Borough of Dudley The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley is a metropolitan borough of West Midlands, England. It was created in 1974 following the Local Government Act 1972, through a merger of the existing Dudley County Borough with the municipal boroughs of Stour ...

, and to the north-east is

. Nearby

New Frankley New Frankley in Birmingham is a civil parish in Birmingham, England. As such, it has its own parish council. History It was established in 2000 in an area in the south-west of the city south of Bartley Reservoirmap, transferred from Bromsgrove ( ...

, to the south, is one of only two civil parishes in Birmingham. It is possible to enter both sides of the service station from Bartley Green. It is inadvisable to drive onto the South side, however the North non-motorway entrance is possible.

Electric car charging

There is one electric car charging point at the Northbound services, and one at the Southbound services. Both are operated by Gridserve.

References

External links

Moto Official Site - FrankleyMotorway Services Online - FrankleyMotorway Services Info - Frankley
{{Transport in Worcestershire 1966 establishments in England Bromsgrove Buildings and structures in Worcestershire Commercial buildings completed in 1966 Economy of Worcestershire M5 motorway service stations Moto motorway service stations Transport in Worcestershire Transport infrastructure completed in 1966