Require service stations to provide motorhome waste and water facilities

We are calling on the Government to update guidance for Motorway Service Areas (MSAs), requiring they provide essential facilities for campervans and motorhomes: toilet (black waste), grey water disposal, and fresh water refill.

Many service stations lack waste and water facilities for campervans and motorhomes, making responsible travel difficult. Without proper disposal points, some travellers resort to dumping toilet or grey water waste in hedgerows, lay-bys or drains, harming the environment and public health. With the growing use of campervans, motorhomes, and domestic tourism each year, we feel the country must improve its infrastructure to support cleaner, safer, and more responsible travel.

All roadside service stations in England are privately operated. The primary function of these roadside facilities is to support the safety and welfare of road users. Roadside facilities perform an important safety function by providing opportunities for the travelling public to stop and take a break during their journey. Government advice is that motorists should stop and take a break of at least 15 minutes every 2 hours. To facilitate this the network of signed roadside facilities on the SRN is intended to provide opportunities to stop at intervals of approximately half an hour.

The minimum requirements for roadside facilities to be eligible for signing from the strategic road network are set out in Department for Transport Planning Circular 01/2022 ‘Strategic road network and the delivery of sustainable development’.

The minimum requirements for motorway service areas set out there are: • Available 24 hours a day throughout the year. • Free parking for a minimum of 2 hours for all vehicles permitted to use the facility • Provision of security monitoring equipment including appropriate lighting and CCTV systems • Free-to-use toilets with hand washing facilities, and at least 1 changing places toilet and 1 for people with disabilities, and no need to make a purchase during opening hours • Shower and washing facilities for HGV drivers (separate provision for men and women), including secure lockers in the shower/washing area • Provision of fuel for petrol and diesel vehicles and EV chargepoints • Hot drinks and cooked hot food available for purchase during all opening hours for consumption on the premises • Access to a free-of-charge telephone for emergency use, Wi-Fi and power points available for device charging

The purpose of these minimum requirements is to ensure road users can access amenities necessary for their safety and welfare at frequent intervals on the strategic road network. MSAs should be well-designed to serve passing traffic and not be destinations in their own right.

The Department for Transport recognises that some campervan and motorhome users feel there is a lack of suitable toilet (black waste), grey water disposal, and fresh water refill facilities nationally, and that more widespread provision of these facilities could support responsible waste management and reduce the likelihood of environmentally harmful disposal elsewhere. However, additional provision might be better placed at locations that are destinations in their own right for motorhome and campervan users, rather than on the strategic road network.

The Department will invite the views of motorhome and campervan users when we next review the minimum standards for motorway service areas. In the meantime the Department encourages motorhome and campervan users to plan ahead and identify facilities for disposing of their waste before travelling.

Department for Transport