5

Identity and Placemaking

Embody distinctive character and a strong sense of place through placemaking, fostering a welcoming environment for all travellers.

Distinctive and inviting Motorway Service Areas can transcend their conventional role as stopovers to create meaningful journey experiences. Quality and beauty have an important role in shaping spaces that draw people in, with attractive, high-quality spaces that people want to visit. The Motorway Service Area of the future should go beyond its essential functions to contribute to making journeys appealing. This is achieved by celebrating the local areas’ beauty through architecture and landscape design, emphasising each service area’s connection to the local character, creating a unique identity for each and fostering a sense of place, establishing a connection with travellers. This principle aims to elevate the overall experience for road users through placemaking principles to create more inviting, recognisable, and quality-driven spaces.

Other considerations:

Are we creating destinations? Embedding good design into Motorway Service areas does not create destinations. This principle aims to transform Motorway Service Areas into inviting and engaging spaces where customers and users can have a better, more welcoming experience and connection to the places they pass through. Ultimately, this principle attempts to transform Motorway Service Areas as more than just necessary pauses along a journey; it aims to enhance the customer experience and celebrate the appeal of travel itself.

Examples (how to achieve this):

• The Pennine Tower at Forton Service Area (Grade II listed status) was designed to act as a distinctive landmark, drawing passing motorists and providing an innovative vantage point, contributing to a unique sense of place and attraction within the surrounding countryside. “Forton services looks designed for ambitious placemaking.” — Workshop one participant.

• “A park for cars”: Thinking about MSAs as having similarities with parks underscores a shift in perspective, focusing on people and places. It brings into focus the potential design implications of this shift, placing the spotlight on travellers and the places they engage with.

Outcomes:

• Sense of place: Each service area becomes a distinctive, unique stop that offers a one-of-a-kind experience, creating a unique sense of place for each.

• Support of local places: Motorway Service Areas that celebrate the local areas’ natural, built and historic environment through its design. Creating a strong sense of place that connects travellers with the regions they pass through and which local communities can take pride in.