Impact

Programme monitoring

The Future of Service Areas workshops generated feedback, data, insights and understanding, not only surrounding the service areas of the future but also on more strategic issues and opportunities. Following each workshop, the Design Council reviewed and analysed emerging themes and ideas to achieve the workshop’s main objective: A clear conception of the future of service areas is articulated and understood. The following pages pose questions for the future of service areas and describe how the programme met the objectives set at its beginning, considering feedback from evaluation surveys, workshop exercises and conversations with additional stakeholders.

01

Identify challenges and opportunities, challenge assumptions and explore innovative ideas in the future of service areas.

It has acted as a catalyst for innovative thinking, challenging preconceived notions and fostering an environment of exploration and experimentation. By delving into the potential of service areas that electrification poses, it has exposed numerous opportunities.

• “EV Charging presents new challenges and opportunities”

—Workshop one participant.

• “The workshops saw some pretty innovative thoughts”

—The Landscape Institute (on the workshop structure)

• “I can see that the process was comprehensive and the end principles a distillation of all that was discussed.”

—The Landscape Institute (on the six principles)

• “It’s important to remember the people at the heart”

—Workshop two participant.

• “[We must]co-design with communities to make sure needs and aspirations are met”

—Workshop one participant.

The inclusion of provocations by speakers with different technical backgrounds in each workshop was instrumental in stimulating fresh thinking. The provocations encouraged participants to challenge the status quo, explore unconventional approaches, and ultimately drive innovation within the industry. The sharing of these novel ideas has not only enriched discussions but has also laid the foundation for a collective journey toward transformation.

• “How might we understand what different people consider makes a beautiful pace?”

— Workshop one participant

• “Why are MSAs isolated from the places they are in?”

—Workshop one participant

• “Clear instructions and useful provocations”

—Workshop two participant

Create new relationships across industries to strengthen crossdisciplinary and co-working relationships across stakeholders

By facilitating cross-disciplinary dialogue, the workshops brought together stakeholders who, in the past, might have operated in isolated silos. This interdisciplinary approach not only promotes understanding but also helps spark the creation of holistic solutions that can transcend the boundaries of specific industries.

• “Great to come together and share ideas with people from different backgrounds”

— Workshop participant.

• “Great group of participants, very well executed frameworks and engaged facilitators”

—Workshop one participant.

• “Good selection and variety of people”

— Workshop one participant.

• “Buzzy, fast moving and interesting way of looking at questions”

—Workshop one participant.

• The workshops engaged a varied scope of industry professionals, extending an invitation to participate in the workshops. The full list of invited organisations included:

Invited organisationsWorkshop ParticipantsTesting of the principles with additional stakeholders:

Westmorland Moto

Welcome Break

Extra

Roadchef

Euro Garages

National Highways Staff

Office for Rapid Charging Fund

Historic England

Natural England

Chartered Institute of Highways and Transport (CIHT)

Royal Institute of Town Planners (RTPI)

Landscape Institute

Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)

RAC Foundation

The AA Transport Focus

Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT)

Logistics UK (formerly FTA)

RHA (Road Haulage Association)

Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT)

NTTA National Trailer and Towing Association

Motorcycle Industry Association

Federation of Small Businesses

Women In Transport

Disabled Motoring UK

National Highways

Jacobs

Transport Focus

Logistics UK

Camping and Caravanning Club

Westmorland

Welcome Break

Roadchef

Historic England

Roads for All Forum

Design Council validated the principles by actively engaging with additional stakeholders, ensuring that the recommendations were examined and refined through a diverse range of perspectives.

• Federation of Small Businesses

• Confederation of Passenger Transport

• Landscape Institute

Recommended next steps

The Future of Service Areas Programme presented a remarkable opportunity to understand the challenges and possibilities electrification poses to Motorway Service Areas in an early and controlled stage. With the programme’s end, it’s essential to understand how the industry could use the findings from this report and the six principles.

•We believe the principles outlined in this report could work alongside existing National Highways guidance, like the ten principles set out in The Road to Good Design. This alignment is crucial for fostering a comprehensive approach to road infrastructure and ensuring that roads, including Motorway Service Areas, enhance the user experience and communities they are part of.

•Whilst originally developed for motorway service areas, the learnings from the Future of Service Areas workshops should be applied beyond this. The themes the principles highlight– such as community, sustainability, flexibility, technology –are applicable to development in general. We encourage the wider built environment industry to consider how these lessons could be applied to their work.

Both these points will, in turn, validate and enrich these 6 principles, forging a future service area that aligns with the evolving landscape of travel and technology while reflecting as many voices and needs as possible.