Lancaster (Forton) Services

Lancaster (Forton) services is a motorway service station, between junctions 32 and 33 of the M6 motorway in England. The nearest city is Lancaster, about 7 miles (11 km) to the north. The site is operated by Moto.

Lancaster (Forton) Services
The Pennine Tower
Lancaster (Forton) Services Location in Lancashire, England Show map of Lancashire Lancaster (Forton) Services Location in Wyre Borough, Lancashire Show map of the Borough of Wyre Lancaster (Forton) Services Location on the UK motorway network Show map of UK motorways
Information
County	Lancashire
Road	M6
Coordinates:	53.9608°N 2.7596°W / 53.9608; -2.7596
Operator	Moto Hospitality
Previous operator(s)	Top Rank
Previous name(s)	Forton Services
Date opened	29 January 1965 (petrol only)[1] 14 July 1965 (full)
Website	moto-way.com/services/lancaster-northbound

Like many older service stations, it has an all-weather enclosed bridge which enables pedestrians to use both the northbound and southbound facilities. In 2005 this bridge had work carried out to strengthen it to withstand the impact of a heavy goods vehicle.^[2]

History

Construction

Forton Services was built on the Preston-Lancaster section of the M6.^[3] Junction 33 (A6) is to the north and junction 32 (M55) is to the south. The site's eastern edge is the boundary between Wyre district and City of Lancaster district.

The architect was T. P. Bennett and Son. T. P. Bennett and Son's first design for service areas was Strensham services; Forton was its second.

It was originally operated by The Rank Organisation (Top Rank Motor Inns). In September 1964, company chairman John Davis announced that all Rank Organisation motorway service areas would have showers and toilets for lorry drivers, starting with Forton. The company felt that lorry drivers were often overlooked, and that lorry drivers previously had a 'smoke and a sandwich in a lay-by'.^[4] Farthing Corner on the M2 was the first Top Rank motorport to open, followed by Knutsford Services.^[5]

The section of the motorway was finished three months ahead of schedule and opened on the afternoon of 29 January 1965. The catering facilities at Forton services were not due to be completed before April 1965, however, the two petrol stations were able to open at the same time as the motorway, with the name Forton services.^[6][7][8] It was the second service station to open on the motorway (Charnock Richard being the first), and is named after the nearby village of Forton.

It fully opened on Wednesday 14 July 1965, with 276 staff, and manager 36-year-old David Beatson,^[9] educated at Sale Grammar School.^[10]

Structure

The services is notable for an unusual hexagonal concrete tower on the northbound side, named The Pennine Tower, which originally housed an up-market restaurant and a sun deck.^[11] The tower was designed to resemble an air traffic control tower and is a prominent local landmark. The tower is 74 feet (23 m) across.

The tower closed to the public in 1989 due to current fire regulations (there is no means of providing an alternative exit from the restaurant deck in an emergency), and is only used for storage and occasional staff training.^{[citation needed]} The tower was built to give views over Morecambe Bay to the west and the Trough of Bowland to the east. Recently, Moto has refreshed the services. The tower has been painted in a beige colour and one of the passenger lifts has been refurbished.

The tower was listed Grade II on 15 October 2012.^[12]