Moto network total and five newest sites from Moto's January 2025 announcement; Welcome Break sites from the Changing Places Consortium news page; 250,000 users and 1,400 UK facilities from Westmorland Family. All checked 3 November 2026.
Why motorway services matter for Changing Places users
Standard accessible toilets do not work for everyone. People who need a carer, a hoist or a height-adjustable bench to use the toilet cannot manage in a standard accessible cubicle, however well signed it is. More than 250,000 people in the UK rely on a Changing Places toilet to get out and about, according to Westmorland Family, which runs Tebay and Gloucester services. On a motorway, where the next stop may be 20 or 30 miles away, that makes the presence of a Changing Places facility a route-planning fact, not a nice extra. The facilities share a common specification: a height-adjustable changing bench, a ceiling tracking hoist, a peninsular toilet with room for carers on either side, and enough space for a wheelchair and up to two carers. Knowing which service stations have them, and where on site they sit, turns a stressful journey into a planned one.
Moto: 41 sites and counting
Moto, the UK's largest motorway service area operator, reports that it now has 41 Changing Places facilities across its network, after adding five more with Department for Transport funding: Doncaster North, Southwaite Southbound, Washington Southbound, Knutsford Southbound and Reading Westbound. Earlier funded sites include Rugby on the M6, Knutsford Northbound, Ferrybridge on the M62, Reading Eastbound, Heston Westbound, Hilton Park Southbound, Strensham North, Tibshelf South, Rownhams South, Northampton South, Maidstone, Durham on the A1(M), Clacket Lane West, Chester and Gloucester Northbound. The spread matters: on the M6, M1, M4 and M5 corridors there is now usually a Changing Places stop within a reasonable stretch, but gaps remain on some routes, so check the specific site rather than assuming the brand guarantees one. Moto says every one of its sites has a standard accessible toilet, but only the Changing Places sites have the bench and hoist.
Welcome Break, Westmorland and the independents
Welcome Break has installed Changing Places toilets at Membury, South Mimms, Hopwood and Gordano, with Corley, Fleet, Sarn and Gretna named as the next sites in its announcement. Each has the standard Changing Places kit: height-adjustable bench, ceiling tracking hoist, extra space and a peninsular toilet. Westmorland Family has completed its ambition of a Changing Places facility at every one of its sites, adding Tebay Northbound and Rheged in January with government funding, alongside the existing Tebay Southbound facility and the southbound facility at Gloucester services on the M5, which was supplied by Closomat. Roadchef and Cornwall Services have also added facilities through Closomat projects. The pattern is consistent: the newest facilities cluster on the busiest routes, and operators announce them site by site, so a list from last year can already be out of date.
Planning a stop: check before you travel
Before a long journey, confirm three things about your chosen stop. First, that the Changing Places facility is actually at that site and direction of travel: many operators serve one carriageway only, and a northbound facility does not help a southbound driver. Second, how it is accessed: some facilities need a RADAR key, and at least one surveyed site, Woolley Edge Southbound on the M1, has an 80 centimetre door opening and a facility 22 metres from the main entrance, so allow time and check the detailed access guide for the site. Third, where it is on site: facilities are sometimes at the rear of the building or in a separate block, not beside the main toilets. The Changing Places Consortium map and operator sites list current locations, and AccessAble publishes surveyed access guides for individual service stations. Save the site name and direction before you leave, and have a backup stop in mind for the same stretch of road.
