Communal seating at Fleet North, located in the centre of the amenity building, based around food units. Before 2020, this was small, outdated seating serving Subway and KFC only. Since McDonalds (which had its own seating area) was taken out and turned into takeaway food units, much more space was available for additional seating, so the customer seating at Fleet North is larger and serves 4 food units now, essentially doubling the size of the food court. There’s not as much seating as Southbound, and due to this building being from 1973 (exactly 44 years older than Southbound), it feels cramped with the low ceiling and is slightly smaller. An extension hasn’t been done to Fleet Northbound recently, but it doesn’t require this since the McDonald’s was removed, creating more internal space. The interior of Fleet North is similar to that of other 70s former Trusthouse buildings, such as Gordano. The layout possibly hasn’t changed much, with the most significant change being the transfer from sit-down dining and restaurants to brand-name franchises, like KFC. In the distance, my photo evidences WHSmith and Waitrose, in addition to a Starbucks Kiosk (which was refurbished to become Pret A Manger in Feb 2024). This seating area was tidy and clean during my visit with minimal litter. I’d say the upkeep of Fleet is rather good in comparison to other, more messy Welcome Break sites. Customer seating was in high demand today, as my photo evidences. My visit was taken during summer holiday, a period of intense pressure for Fleet as it serves many customers stopping on route from London to Cornwall. Although busy, there were still plenty of seats available.

Photo taken on 22/07/2023 by Tom Moon.

Assigned to galleries: Fleet, M3, Welcome Break