Immaculate showers, reasonably priced home cooked food, account/snap/fuel card payments, level ground to park on and anything else is a bonus
Dipper_Dave:
Build it and they will come.
Have a stripper night (usually Thursday) and they will come again.
I was at Thurrock Truck Stop many years ago and they had a stripper, she was so gross that everybody was shouting “Get 'em on!” 
Whilst not perfect if you could emulate The Hollies Truckstop in Cannock you will probably be onto a winner.
Truckers are simple creatures, we follow our stomachs. Look at the Red Lion just off the M1. Horrible parking but its rammed every night, the reason. The food. Massive portions and ruddy good to boot. Lorry drivers don’t want this new age “two leaves wrapped around a chick pea” crap. We want curries as big as a dustbin lid!
I’ll second that
Eurorider:
Whilst not perfect if you could emulate The Hollies Truckstop in Cannock you will probably be onto a winner.
Not been to the Hollies for so long I can’t even remember if it was good or bad. To my mind, the Stockyard is the best truckstop in the UK, it’s one of the few places I will pay to park.
Rich262:
I’ve been thinking at opening a truckstop in my hometown for a while now and as I don’t do that many night outs (4 in 2 years), I’m wondering what you’d want as a essential.
Obviously 24h toilets/showers but what else would make you travel the 5 miles from the m6? Would no bar put you off from visiting? Do no hot meals mean you won’t entertain the night stop or would the site have to use Snap or one of the other parking accounts?Thanks
Rich
I believe every decent truck stop needs to be open fully 24/7. Clean showers and toilets, good fresh cooked food and refreshments. The downfall of many truck stops around here is that they virtually shut down after 10.00pm. One in particular near my home will lock it’s doors at 9.30pm, a few years back they put signs up saying they would be open 24 hrs a day, then a week later they went back to closing again, when I asked why the boss told me “Nobody stopped by”
I pointed out that he hadn’t even given the message to get around, drivers were so used to the place being closed early that they already found other places to stop. He has now however expanded the place to include a real diner, but he still closes at 9 FFS.
I wish you luck with your venture.
3 nights in the stockyard this week
Oh yes
Harry Monk:
Dipper_Dave:
Build it and they will come.
Have a stripper night (usually Thursday) and they will come again.I was at Thurrock Truck Stop many years ago and they had a stripper, she was so gross that everybody was shouting “Get 'em on!”
Although any port in a storm springs to mind im wondering if theres any connection between the perceived lack of driver camaraderie these days and the loss of truckstop strippers.
Perhaps its just a pipe dream but with Brexit and Trump just maybe the battle against political correctness has started.
Sure we are a long way from the return of strippers but theres hope.
I remember a night at Chesterfield, very green and new to trucking a fellow trucker invited me over to watch the strippers. A bit shy I thought go on then 10 minutes wont hurt. Well 3 hours later im struggling to find me truck, off me ■■■■ but having experienced a very enjoyable evening.
Eurorider:
Whilst not perfect if you could emulate The Hollies Truckstop in Cannock you will probably be onto a winner.
But with more hot water please 
Brescia truckstop in Italy has a fully equipped gym, car hire which is ideal to tour the lakes and mountain resorts .
Cycle hire, fridge power points .
Bars and restaurants and a motel with a drivers discount .
For your set up, half a dozen Micras from the car auctions would suffice for drivers to hire at weekends, or waiting days for reloads back to EE .
Deposit , their lorry keys .
Cycles to keep fit and a Portacabin with CV kit and weights will keep the punters coming back .
Snap is a must
Takeaway delivery when the cafe is shut .
I like the idea of the hire cars Toby. Be plenty of East Block drivers wanting to tour the lakes and mountains near the M6 on their weekend off.
Cheers for the feedback guys.
My local and county council have a plan in place to provide a truckstop within the town limits, but it is running circa 14 months behind schedule. They want a commercial venture to start it, but If nobody is interested, they are willing to fund it themselves.
Without giving the location away, the town is within easy reach to a couple of motorways and there are multiple attractions that should bring traffic to the gates.
There are several suitable sites on the industrial estate, with my first choice being a mahoosive concrete slab left behind when a derelict unit got flattened.
There are no houses within the local area so there shouldn’t be any complaints in regards to increased traffic movements/noise.
I’d be looking to get grants from local and central coffers, along with a loan for the initial purchase/lease of the land.
I’ve stayed at the stockyard and thought it was pretty good. It would be something along those lines I would be looking to follow. Hard standing with a single story building that has everything inside it. Stayed at Lincoln Farm on Tuesday and it was like parking in a farmers field. Boots covered in mud the moment I was out of the cab, meaning the showers were minging after all the mud had been walked inside.
There’s clearly a few replies on here referring to the ideal truck stop rather than truckstop basics.
For me, the following keeps me coming back. Listen in order of priority:
Good quality food. I have no issue at all with paying good money for good quality. I’d rather pay extra that eat cheap ■■■■■. Orwell Crossing TS is a prime example of this. The recent chef is terrible.
A well planned parking area Numerous TS’s have plenty of space but they are so poorly laid out that it makes it very difficult to get parked when busy.
SNAP but offer some sort of meal voucher too. The Fox at Colsterworth, Caenby Corner, The Red Lion and numerous others give something back to the SNAP payers.
Well lit and level Not football ground flood lighting but enough to see where you’re going when your walking to the crapper. I’ve no issues with raising or lowering the axles to get the cab level but I’ll stay well clear of anywhere where the cab is leaning excessively one side or the other.
Good / Excellent showers I’ll go 30 mins out of my way for a good shower facility. When I say good I mean, individual cubicles, hot and powerful flow, not on a timer, clean. I don’t spend ages in the shower, few people do, but when it’s on a timer i stay in it for the full duration.
It’s very hard to find all of the above in one stop on a regular basis though.
Harry Monk:
Eurorider:
Whilst not perfect if you could emulate The Hollies Truckstop in Cannock you will probably be onto a winner.Not been to the Hollies for so long I can’t even remember if it was good or bad. To my mind, the Stockyard is the best truckstop in the UK, it’s one of the few places I will pay to park.
Harry, I’ve stayed at the hollies in recent months and it’s still very good. Great food and very clean facilities.
Is the stockyard the one at just off the M18?
Strippers?-no thanks, boring.
TV lounge with films being shown.
Excellent showers toilets.
24hr security.
CCTV.
Free wifi.
I don’t think it will work without hot meals .
Most drivers love a roast dinner , such as beef, chicken or turkey with all the trimmings.
Coventry airport truckstop known as Pjm does a great roast .
The same for the Bridgewater livestock market truckstop off j 24 M5 .
They offer three sizes, child portion, small or large roast .
Good pasta , such as Lasagna, Spaghetti Bolognese or pizzas .
All day breakfast .
Visit many truckstops to see how they run it.
Minus the strippers, the stockyard does seem to get the entertainment, food and facilities rights.
showers with adjustable temperature. i like a cold shower but most ive found are like lava. those button ones are crud.
for food maybe a carvery? everyone loves a good carvery and youll get extra business from passing trade.
bar or a shop selling booze.
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Strippers??..seriously, after a 15hr hard day, worn out and hungry do you really want a pair of ■■■■ then shoved in your face…just not something youred want now is it??.. 