A new Motorway Service Area is opening this summer on the M25, strategically located midway between Heathrow and Gatwick Airports. This is being developed and will be both owned and operated by Extra MSA Group. The development provides a new state of the art Motorway Service Area between existing Junctions 9 and 10 at Cobham, Surrey, inclusive of its own new motorway junction.
London based Project & Building Consultancy Ltd (PBC), a project management and building consultancy practice are on behalf of Extra, directing construction of this 60 acre site, with a total build value in the region of £60 million.
The project includes the construction of 1,000 parking spaces, one of the largest Fuel Filling Stations in the UK, with underground fuel storage for over 1 million litres. A new under bridge / tunnel is being constructed, to link the East bound carriageway with the development, providing full access in all directions. This has proved to be a significant challenge, as Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Limited have successfully undertaken the construction within the busiest section of the M25 motorway. This structure has required insertion of in excess of 200 piles across the entire motorway without having to halt the heavy motorway traffic (current flow approximately 140,000 vehicles per day). Each of the secant piles is over 20 metres long and 1.2 metres in diameter.
Other challenges during the building and construction of the MSA and under bridge include removing over 200,000 cubic metres of soil from the site, and running pipes/cables for gas and electric for a distance of over 10km.
During construction, care has been taken in preserving the surrounding woodland and wildlife habitats, with the resident Great Crested Newts protected and aided by the installation of new ecology ponds.
With regard to provision of facilities on site, the external courtyard seating area will have views across the attractively landscaped environmental lake. Other environmentally conscious measures taken in the development of this project include solar walls with hot water pre-heat, rain water harvesting/grey water reclaim and recycling, low energy lighting, activity sensing light switching and deep form glazing to increase daylight levels throughout the food court in order to diminish the need for artificial lighting during daylight hours. Extra and PBC have jointly reviewed the project to incorporate advances in building techniques to sustain the environment.
The development will provide all travellers with a refreshingly modern approach to Service Area provision, the relaxing and attractive surroundings of the lakes and woods providing an escape from the demands of the M25, with all facilities provided to a high quality of design and operating standard. The ‘food court style’ Amenity Building offers outlets such as M&S Simply Food, McDonalds, KFC, Eat In, Starbucks, Quicksilver Gaming and WH Smith. There will also be a new Regus Business Centre and a 75 bedroom Days Inn Hotel with comfortable lounge area.
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND PHOTOS– PLEASE CONTACT EMMA HEWARD [email protected]
0207 747 3169
