Gloucester Services

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A motorway service station like no other

Over 20 years ago, conversations began between residents on the social housing estate of Matson in Gloucester about how to turn the nearby M5 motorway into an asset to create local jobs and sustainable income, and the idea of a new motorway service station was born. Gloucestershire Gateway Trust was formed to bring this vision to life, and went in search of a business partner.

“There was a real opportunity to create something special on the motorway. We went to find a business partner that held the same set of values as us, believed in locality, believed in local people and believed in local food. The Westmorland Family – they’re the only business that share the same set of values as us.”

Mark Gale, Chief Executive of Gloucestershire Gateway Trust

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A unique partnership

When Mark Gale met Sarah Dunning, now Chair of family business Westmorland who had created and run Tebay Services for many years, they knew the fit was right and a unique partnership was created to make Gloucester Services a reality.

Work began in 2013, with the Northbound Services opening on 7 May 2014. The Southbound Services followed shortly after, and were opened by King Charles in July 2015.

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Reinvesting in local people, projects and communities

Creating a sustainable model of social investment, where jobs were created for local people and money was reinvested back into the neighbourhoods we work alongside through our community partners was at the heart of the design of how Gloucester Services works.

In the last 18 months over £700,000 has been reinvested through Gloucestershire Gateway Trust into community projects and development activity in the target communities to support regeneration. Local residents help decide how future funding is spent through an annual Community Survey and an additional £2.5 million will be committed to these communities over five years.

​Gloucester Services has realised a long-standing aspiration by local residents to create positive social change and regeneration within their neighbourhoods. 

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Not just a charity partner

Gloucester Services is a pioneering model of social investment with both Gloucestershire Gateway Trust and Westmorland having a stake in the business and how it is run, and working together to connect and create opportunities for people in our communities:

• Our teams work closely together, with our Community Support Manager connecting colleagues to community partners to get involved and volunteer, as well as community partners to colleagues to provide support on wellbeing, debt advice and support groups.

• We also created ‘Bridging the Gap’ to help people experiencing barriers to work – such as disability, learning difficulties, language or lack of skills – boost their skills and confidence, and have a guaranteed interview for real job roles at Gloucester Services.

• Our ‘Limited Edition’ course gave participants of the GEM Project the opportunity to learn business skills needed to bring a real product to market – with the ‘GEM Scones’ going on sale in the Farmshops.

• We manage the ‘Growing Communities Space’ on the Gloucester Services Northbound site with the help of our community partner GL Communities – offering a quiet nature space for colleagues, customers and groups to enjoy.

• You might also spot our Community Galleries on both Gloucester Services sites, where we showcase work of local artists and photographers, and share photos of local community work.

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Jobs and opportunities at Gloucester Services

Interested in finding out more about working at Gloucester Services? Head over to our page all about jobs at Gloucester Services for more information about the types of jobs available, current vacancies and hear first hand from some of our colleagues about what it’s like working there.

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