Service stations at the site were first proposed in 1972. During planning, the services were intended to be named
Titsey Wood after the forest that surrounds the site. In 1977 Tandridge District Council received hundreds of protests about the proposed site being built in the wood. The site would be 40 acres, with parking for 770 cars, 30 coaches and 150 trucks. There would be two self service restaurants with 400 seats each. It was anticipated to sell 12 million gallons of fuel in 1994. The site could store 1.6 million litres of fuel, with 160 pumps.
Construction The architects were Dancey and Meredith. Structural engineering was by the Ernest Green Partnership. The £13.2m contract was awarded to Moss Construction of Cheltenham, who built it in 15 months, and by Wallis Ltd of Bromley. The landscape architect was Travers Morgan. Building started in May 1992. 45 year old Peter Whitlock, a former Asda store manager, from
Milton Keynes, would be the general manager. During construction of the sites,
artefacts from
Roman Britain were found, specifically from a disused
Roman road and are now displayed at the service station.
Opening Fuel services were opened on Monday 17 May 1993, by Patricia Banks, chairman of
Tandridge District Council. The catering services were opened by
Robert Key, Minister for Roads and Traffic on 21 July 1993. ==Structure==