A Cotswold Farmshop: Behind the scenes of Gloucester Services - one of UK's favourite motorway stops
Take a sneak peek look at the new series as ITV News catches up with Mark Gale (footage from Purple/Channel 4)
A new six-part documentary will take a look at the people and products behind the M5 Gloucester services.
A Cotswold Farmshop will share the stories of the family-owned services which opened in 2014.
It's a joint venture between neighbourhood development charity Gloucestershire Gateway Trust (GGT) and Westmorland Family, the business behind Tebay Services in Cumbria.
The Lake District service station opened in 1972 and was owned by farmers John and Barbara Dunning. It was the first family-owned motorway services in the UK.
Founder of the GGT Mark Gale approached the Dunnings to create the Gloucester services with a similar ethos to Tebay, celebrating local people and produce.
He said: “We’d been looking at the motorway and it had always been a problem, so we thought about how we could turn this problem into an asset.
"Residents came up with this vision of how they could turn the motorway into an asset - an engine to drive local regeneration and local opportunities.
“If you went to Tebay you knew you were in the Lake District - we teamed up with them and it’s been a marriage made in heaven.”
The GGT receives 3p of every pound of non-fuel sales at the services and that money goes back into the community. Mark said £3 million has been re-invested so far.
One example is a pre-employment course that helps people who experience barriers develop their skills, boost confidence and have a guaranteed interview at Gloucester Services.
The series shares some stories of people who have had their lives turned around due to the course.
In episode one, we will meet Shellene - a woman who went from selling class A drugs to being in prison, to becoming a team leader at the services.
GGT also works in the community on a range of schemes such as youth facilities, community sport, and offers grants to organisations too.
Another side to the show shines a light on the producers - like Jonathan Crump, a farmer who makes cheese for the services from his small herd of rare Gloucester cattle.
Mark said: “You’ll hear some really important stories of people who work here and a range of experiences and acknowledgement that everyone’s got something positive to offer.
“You’ll also hear all about our fantastic producers and the ripple effect of having a business that’s committed to local, and buys local, and supports local producers.
“It’s all about the personalities and the stories but it’s also about the economic impact and social benefit as well of a business and charity working together.”
Mark said the documentary idea came to him after one was made about Tebay Services.
He said: “Purple already did a six-part series with Tebay Services with the Lake District Farm Shop and I think that had gone so well and had such good viewing figures, that they were enthusiastic to tell the story in Gloucester.
“In many ways the story’s similar - family business working with fantastic local producers, but in many ways it’s different as well because in the Lake District it was led by the Dunning family but in Gloucester it was initiated by community organisations who wanted to find better ways to support regeneration and renewal in their communities.
“We have different roots, but we have common purpose and we work well together.
“It’s an amazing journey we’ve been on a fantastic journey so far - forgive the pun, as I sit on a motorway - but we’re really pleased with how it’s gone so far. Things can only get better.”
A Cotswold Farmshop starts on Monday 7 August at 8pm, Channel 4.