M25 motorway services in Essex, UK
Thurrock services is a motorway service station in Thurrock, Essex, serving the M25 motorway, and the Dartford Crossing (A282). It was planned in the mid-1980s and opened after the M25 was completed. Originally popular, the services have gradually deteriorated and have attracted criticism for poor facilities. They have also been a magnet for drug trafficking and other criminal activities.
Location
The service area, owned by Moto, is accessible from junction 30 and 31 of the M25 motorway. Amenities include a Travelodge hotel. The main entrance leads onto a first floor concourse containing shops and food services. The toilets are located on the ground floor.[2]
Part of the service station overlooks a lake, which was constructed from a former gravel pit.[2]
History
The site was offered for sale by the landowner to Granada (now Moto Hospitality) in 1976.[3] The area was used for heavy industry and included several pylons, gasometers and industrial sheds.[4] The land had been used for landfill waste, leading to concerns about a build up of methane underneath any development.[5] The sale did not go ahead, but in 1986 the Department of Transport announced that bids would be considered for a 40-acre (16 ha) site next to M25 junction 31.[3] Granada announced the following year they intended to build the services, but Esso won the construction contract.[6] Work began in 1988, but was delayed by an objection to the building design from the local planning authority. The services opened in 1990.[1]
Criticism
The services were popular when opened, and did not attract attention,[4][7] but gradually deteriorated and were criticised. In 2018, a Transport Focus survey of 9,600 motorway service users ranked Thurrock as the worst service area in England, with only 68% reporting a satisfactory experience.[2][8] Problems included a lack of working toilet facilities, queues for showers, no air conditioning and food not kept properly refrigerated.[2][9] Thurrock was found to be the most improved motorway service area in the 2019 edition of the survey.[10]
Crime
The services have been used as an exchange point for illegal drug dealing. A representative from HM Customs and Excise said its location next to a major motorway providing access to cross-channel ports and the rest of the UK made it an ideal meeting point for traffickers.[11]
In 1998, 40 kilograms (88 lb) of heroin was recovered from a van trying to breach a police cordon at the premises.[12] In 2001, heroin valued at £8m was seized following an armed police operation.[11] Two years later, a five-man trafficking team was captured on closed-circuit television; they were subsequently arrested and imprisoned for attempting to distribute £2.6m worth of cocaine.[13] In 2010, a sting operation resulted in several arrests for theft, possession of drugs, carrying offensive weapons and driving without tax and insurance and 32 vehicles were impounded.[14]
