AN OFFICIAL opening ceremony for Rugby’s new motorway service station has taken place.
Junior transport minister Rachel Maclean MP has formally opened Rugby Services, with a plaque unveiling ceremony hosted by Ken McMeikan, Chief Executive of Moto Hospitality.
The event was attended by officials and dignitaries including Rugby MP Mark Pawsey and Deputy Mayor of Rugby Chris Cade.
The £40million service station, at junction one of the M6, began operating at the end of April, creating 120 jobs.
Operator Moto describes the station as ‘the UK’s flagship electric vehicle (EV) site’, with 24 ultra-rapid EV charging points – which can add up to 100 miles of range in less than ten minutes – making it the largest ultra-rapid charging site on the motorway.
Rachel Maclean MP said she was delighted to formally open Rugby Services.
She added: “I’m proud, too, to open the largest ultra-rapid charging site on UK motorways. A zero-emission future will need a world-leading electric vehicle charging network. Rugby Services is a perfect example of that in action.”
Ken McMeikan, Chief Executive of Moto Hospitality, said: “We predict that by 2030 as many as three in 10 drivers could be driving into motorway service areas in an electric vehicle. That’s why we’ve committed to a long-term investment programme in sustainable motoring, with Rugby Services the first of four Moto MSAs to have 24 ultra-rapid EV charging points this year alone.”
Moto has said the site’s 100 HGV parking spaces will help ease the problem of lorries parking overnight in local lay-bys and roads.
But when the scheme was given planning permission by Rugby Borough Council in 2017, Coun Bill Lewis – who voted against it – warned it would cause gridlock and ‘misery to Rugby residents’.
He said: “The roads around Rugby are already congested. Heavy trucks which are likely to use the service area will not be confined to those travelling along the M6. The Leicester Road/A426 is already congested, and that situation is likely to become an even greater problem.”
And an objection to the scheme from Warwickshire Police’s Traffic Management Advisor warned unprecedented growth in Rugby was causing congestion and putting pressure on emergency services.
