Exelby Services, number 44 in the Forecourt Trader Top 50 Indies list, is investing £5m in building a new truck stop on a 15-acre site at Leeming Bar in
north Yorkshire to replace its Londonderry site. The HGV parking facilities are expected to be particularly welcome. This is because the A1 in that area is being upgraded to a motorway and, as a result, a number of stopping spaces will be lost as local roadside businesses close.
Managing director Michael Exelby explained: "The new Leeming Bar site will be adjacent to the motorway junction while lorries would have had to travel more than 10 miles on the local road network to reach our existing location."
Subject to planning consent, the new 24-hour services will provide fuel, food and washroom facilities, as well as extensive parking.
Michael’s father Ron first built a filling station and repair garage on the old A1 in Londonderry in 1947. This business was affected by the construction of the Londonderry bypass in the early 1960s. To counter the downturn in trade, Ron introduced the diesel bunkering concept.
"In a way history is being repeated as nearly 50 years later we are now looking to adapt again in response to more changes on the A1," said Michael. In all, Exelby Services has five truck stops across the north of England.
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