Westmorland has revealed that it aims to make its Tatton Services £65 million motorway site near Manchester Airport a “new benchmark for sustainability”.
It says that the motorway services area (MSA) – between junctions 7 and 8 of the M56 in Cheshire – will be powered by electricity sourced from renewable supplies.
No fossil fuels will be used in the day-to-day operation of the site, aside from the vehicle fuel sold at the forecourt, and electric vehicle charging will play a central role.
The development, an 80–20 partnership between Westmorland and the Tatton Estate, has been given planning permission for a 100-room hotel, farm shop, petrol station and charging for 96 electric vehicles on the greenbelt land.
There will be 40 EV charging bays when the site opens in spring 2028, with plans to expand capacity significantly in the future, “ensuring the site is ready for the transition to greener travel”.
When work began at the site earlier this year, Sarah Dunning, chair of the family business, told Forecourt Trader that Tatton would be a progression of the operator’s other MSAs at Tebay in Cumbria, Douglas in Scotland and Gloucester.
“It will be an evolution of our motorway service areas, but will be on a bigger scale, and will serve both sides of the motorway,” she said at the time.
In keeping with its community work at its other sites, it will run a grant programme distributing a minimum of £100,000 per year to local grassroot initiatives.
The site, near Millington and Rostherne, will also mirror the ‘proper food’ philosophy of its other MSAs, with a farm shop-style format and foodhall selling locally-sourced food.
Over five decades, the company has built a national reputation for championing locally sourced, homemade food and working closely with independent food and drink producers. Westmorland’s roots is in agriculture, beginning with Tebay Services in 1972 on the Dunning farm in Cumbria.
Dunning says that she is “very excited to bring our proper food offer and ethos to Cheshire”.
She adds: “From day one, this was about creating something rooted in the local landscape and community. We have committed to working with at least 70 producers within 30 miles of the site — and we hope that number will grow as relationships flourish.
“We’re also creating over 400 skilled jobs for local people, alongside apprenticeships and training programmes designed to build meaningful, long-term careers in the food industry. Our ambition is not only to serve travellers but to create opportunities and lasting value for the communities around us.”
The scheme has been designed by Howells, the architect behind Westmorland’s award-winning Gloucester Services. Project management is being led by Mott MacDonald, with groundworks by Yates Building & Civil Engineering and construction delivered by Eric Wright Group.
The services will be built on the site of a longstanding farmstead, with the plans retaining the existing farmhouse and barns, with new buildings “designed to complement the historic setting”. The main building will centre around a kitchen, kitchen garden and fuel barn, which Westmorland says will reflect the character and heritage of the surroundings.
Pete Crowther, Tatton Estate chief executive says: “This unique sustainable motorway service area is exactly the sort of high-quality development the Tatton Estate is proud to partner with — combining a strong family-run ethos with excellent architecture, landscaping and environmental credentials.”
