Highways Agency

Executive Summary

Motorway Service Areas and other roadside facilities, such as All-Purpose Trunk Road Service Areas, lorry parks, all-purpose trunk road and motorway picnic areas and all-purpose trunk road laybys, perform an important road safety function by providing opportunities for the travelling public to stop and take a break in the course of their journey. Government advice is that motorists should stop and take a break of at least 20 minutes every two hours. Drivers of Large Goods Vehicles are subject to a regime of statutory breaks.

Current Government policy relates only to MOTORWAY SERVICE AREAS (MSAs) and is held in two documents Roads Circular 1/94 and the MSA Policy Statement of July 1998. The Government intends to review the policy with a view to updating and consolidating this advice, and issuing fresh guidance on other forms of roadside facility.

The Government wishes to see the provision of roadside facilities maintained and to seek ways to enhance this provision, so as to improve services for motorists and lorry drivers, but not so that service stations become destinations in their own right. It is, therefore, inviting views from the industry, interested organisations and the public on a range of issues relating to the provision and nature of roadside facilities in order to inform its review. The responses to this consultation will be considered, alongside other evidence, in determining the content of the revised guidance. The revised guidance will be the subject of further consultation.

Until revised guidance is published, existing guidance will continue to be valid.

The consultation period will run for 12 weeks and end on Thursday 8th February 2007.

Since the purpose of this consultation is to seek views to assist in policy development, it is not possible at this stage to carry out a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA). Once policy proposals have been developed an RIA will be prepared to assess the impact of the proposed policy guidance and this will be published for comment.

Please note that during the printing of the of the consultation document the Road Safety Bill received Royal Assent and is therefore now the Road Safety Act 2006

Issues upon which your views are invited:

Motorway Service Areas:

• Determining need
• Spacing
• Signing of facilities
• Retail activities
• Standards of facilities
• Park and ride facilities

Motorway Picnic Areas:

• Defining policy

All-Purpose Trunk Road Service Areas:

• Spacing criteria
• Provision of facilities
• Future uses of closed sites

Lorry Parking:

• Promoting provision

Laybys:

• Establishing greater uniformity and control over their use
• Standards of safety