It seems that the rising cost of fuel is forcing on average 11 filling stations to close every week, which totalled almost 600 last year.!!!!
If this trend continues or escalates, we`ll all be back to a pony & trap.!!!!!!
www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/65918/soaring_fuel_pric...l
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The same thing has happened in my area and the only fuel stations that are left appear to be BP and their prices are a good 4p per litre more than the Shell garages 6 miles away.
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An example of why filling staions are going.:
This site is on the A307 about half a mile from Kingston town centre.
It has been boarded up for a few years.
I am surprised it is up for sale.
The petrol station, IMO was unique, I think because of the view the flats behind retained.
The filling staion had no big sign, the pumps were just on islands with no canopy. The pay office was below ground level.
Place your bids.
tinyurl.com/kcbqf
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£2.2 million - a snip..... I've filled my car up there a few times..
Is the pub (Boatyard?) still nearby?
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£2.2 million - a snip..... I've filled my car up there a few times..
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A few points.
The price per plot. No garages, I suspect to keep the developement less intrusive.
It does not mention that although it is on the main road the view across the Thames to Hampton Court grounds is unlikely ever to be compromised instead it says "on Kingston Cycle Route" when I suspect a buyer with three parking spots probably would not own a bike.
>>Is the pub (Boatyard?) still nearby?
Yes but undergoing yet another refit.
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I doubt the occupants of the flats behind will be too pleased when their view of the river is obliterated by the new townhouses that will surely be built on the site.
Petrol stations are closing all over Ireland at a surprising rate too - we're told that there's no profit in selling fuel any more, only in the groceries bought from the forecourt shop.
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Used to fill up there if an emergency, it was the only one open late at night, and was always over priced.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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I doubt the occupants of the flats behind will be too pleased when their view of the river is obliterated by the new townhouses that will surely be built on the site.
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I suspect the new houses might even be built below ground level to reduce the intrusion.Petrol stations are closing all over Ireland at a surprising rate too
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Actually in Kingston, where land is so expensive, in the last year, three other filling stations have closed and two are already built on.
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Perhaps this thread should have been titled, The Rising Cost of Building Plots and why filling stations are disappearing at such a rapid rate.
It seems eventually all the privately owned stations will go the same way and we will only be left with those owned by the major fuel companies, which will still involve us all with far less choice and in more searching for fuel at ever increasing prices.!!!!!
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It seems eventually all the privately owned stations will go the same way and we will only be left with those owned by the major fuel companies.
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But the ones I referrred to were major fuel companies.
Plus two others, both majors, on the same major road have also closed in the last two years.
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An example of why filling staions are going.: This site is on the A307 about half a mile from Kingston town centre. It has been boarded up for a few years. I am surprised it is up for sale. The petrol station, IMO was unique, I think because of the view the flats behind retained. The filling staion had no big sign, the pumps were just on islands with no canopy. The pay office was below ground level. Place your bids. tinyurl.com/kcbqf
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That's not Esher! Surbiton - yes, or possibly Kingston.
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The same thing has happened in my area and the only fuel stations that are left appear to be BP and their prices are a good 4p per litre more than the Shell garages 6 miles away.
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It seems that in the UK there has been asteady decline in the amount of filling stations over the past 15 years. Firstly I think this was due to new H&S legislation some years ago which made it non-viable for small village petrol stations to comply with, so huge swathes of stations closed in this way. Then, running costs, versus the margin on fuel sold meant that stations were only viable if they performed a lot of other services such as selling food and household basics, unless you were a supermarket and you could almost treat the filling station as a loss-leader. So we have ended up with a few filling stations, which double as super-markets and coffee shops, or supermarket fuel outlets.
In my area (west Reading) you queue for fuel at all times except for very early morning or after 9PM at night. Its a bit scary realy as the situation lends itself to price-fixing cartels.
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If this trend continues or escalates, we`ll all be back to a pony & trap.!!!!!!
Ah, yes, I remember it well. A brilliant form of transport for relatively short journeys.
--
L\'escargot.
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I used to rent an office above what had been a thriving showroom and filling station.
The owner cheerfully admitted that he was making more money in a month sitting on it as a development plot than he made in a year selling fuel.
The only issue for a developer is decontaminating the plot, but the location, size and access normally more than makes up for this.
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Well the Fillup at New Haw (by the lock on the wey) has shut down for those that know it. Thas a local shop, MOT station, and a Garage gone. The pumps have been concreted over, it's getting a refit and looks like its turning into a used car showroom.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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The only issue for a developer is decontaminating the plot, but the location, size and access normally more than makes up for this.
Frequently you find that the oil company will clean up the site to get a clean (sorry) sale. Onus is on the landowner, so a purchaser will overstate the costs required to clear the site to drive the price down.
We nearly bought a former filling station last November, but the deal fell thorough. 20ish flats over three storeys is pretty easy to achieve and sometimes you can use the void left by the tanks to you advantage - parking, storage basement etc.
I would say most trade is going to supermarkets, after all it makes sense to buy the fuel at the same time as your shopping. Other than that, you need a very good location and a low price e.g. Shell garage opposite the Black Castle in Bristol, last filling station before you hit the spine road and M32, and 86.9 per litre.
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My neighbour has just thrown in the towel on his (urban) business. Can't compete with the supermarkets where, it seems, many shoppers routinely fill up after the weekly shop whether or not there's a fuel promotion on. If and when the trend hits the rural stations then we'll know there's a crisis. What's the situation on mainland Europe?
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Galad,
If you must quote the authors message to which you're replying to, can you do so before, rather than after your message please. (Preferably summerising it, rather than quoting the whole message)
Thanks, DD.
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It has to be mainly down to supply and demand. There were just too many filling stations. Purely by the law of averages some will get more business then others, and the "others" will fall by the wayside. The amount of business a filling station gets can even depend on which side of the road it's on and how easy it is get into, fill up at, and get out of.
--
L\'escargot.
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Another case of supermarkets using their muscle to wipe out the opposition.
Then when the opposition is gone they can set their own prices for fuel. Abuse of market economics, pure and simple.
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It may happen.
The Garages near me.
JET next to Tesco Brooklands - managing (just) to survive by price matching. Wont last long mostly empty.
Esso near Tesco Brooklands - Now a Tesco express. Petrol dear.
5 Miles away
Tesco addlestone, Two Total garages nearby managing to survive, all other garages closed or dead.
Thankfully Sainsbury at Cobham ( 5 miles away) sells fuel so is keeping Tesco in the area honest.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Doesn't give those who don't want supermarket fuel much choice, does it?
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If the price is right there is no reason not to have it.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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If price is all you buy on, no.
I prefer to buy branded, Shell, BP, etc.
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If the price is right there is no reason not to have it.
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TourVanManTM < Ex RF
This is the problem though. If everyone takes the attitude that they won't use the local independent business (petrol or whatever) on the basis of price alone then these businesses will disappear altogether. All you will be left with is Sainsburys/Tesco who will then be able to charge what they want.
Not really progress in my book. That, I guess, is why there is a probe into Tesco's dominance in the high street. Within a two mile radius of where I used to live, five stations have disappeared in the last 15 years. All you now have is one Sainsburys with constant queues. And as one poster put it not everyone wants to use Supermarket fuel anyway.
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The one problem you seem to have missed with closing down filling stations is how far you will have to walk if you run out.
The fuel gauge in the Range Rover decided to lie a while back and i was dressed all in black at night and had to walk two miles on narrow backroads with wannabe rally drivers going either way to an overpriced but very handy filling station,i could have cuddled the owner as the next garage was another six miles.
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"If the price is right there is no reason not to have it"
When fuel costs almost £1 a litre it seems to me penny-pinching to search out a place where it is 1p or 2p less. The most you can save is about £1 a fill, which some people happily spend in making detours to buy cheaper.
On stations closing - there was an Esso in Runcorn, nicely improved in the last few years with shop, etc, which closed recently as it is 200 yds from an established BP. On the other hand, the last time I was through Dordon on the A5 there were Texaco and Esso (I think) facing each other on opposite sides, with a price difference. So it can't be impossible.
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Thankfully Sainsbury at Cobham ( 5 miles away) sells fuel so is keeping Tesco in the area honest. ------------------------------ TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
And of course, a very nice Shell garage at Cobham, on the Fairmile.
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Round here, (Nottingham Derby) Shell have beaten or matched supermarkets constantly on price, being some 1 to 3p cheaper, and the diesel is Shell Advanced. Tesco prices are terrible. The supermarkets now seem to have killed the competition, and have 3p higher prices in the areas they dominate. What's more, they have rediculous queues, and I don't do queues.
DIESEL PRICES
Sainsburys Sainsburys Castle Boulevard Nottingham 3.09 miles 91.9p 30-03-2006
Texaco Star Derby Road Nottingham 3.5 miles 91.9p 30-03-2006
Shell Shell Lace Market Nottingham 3.82 miles 91.9p 30-03-2006
Sainsburys Sainsburys Beeston Nottingham 3.92 miles 91.9p 30-03-2006
Shell Shell Priory Nottingham 4.33 miles 91.9p 30-03-2006
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Also, I bet ESSO will give up retail next, just as Mobil and Elf have.
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Used to have a very handy Elf station on the nearby main road.It changed to Total,was the cheapest around and gave points.Now long gone and Total costs more than Shell.Quite a few ex filling stations around here have become hand car washes seemingly staffed exclusively by eastern europeans,cannot imagine it pays well but they are out there all day in the wet and cold.
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All the Elf stations were rebranded as Total I thought, same as Fina. TFE is the parent company.
Admittedly I haven't seen a Mobil garage for years.
I was up in the Lake District last year and I saw a "National" filling station - not seen one of those for a long time
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Several years ago all the Mobil stations became BP ones.
Chris Muriel, Manchester
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And of course, a very nice Shell garage at Cobham, on the Fairmile.
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And the Shell station at Hinchley Wood, the other side of Esher is a cheap as the supermarkets.
I cannot work out why it is so competative. The nearest supermarkets are miles away in every direction.
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I've been thinking.
Don't forget the Shell garage at The Ace Of Spades - very competitive.
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I've been thinking. Don't forget the Shell garage at The Ace Of Spades - very competitive.
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It's taken you a long time!
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All the petrol stations based in the area of my local Tesco Extra all charge the same prices as the supermarket for fuel (basic unleaded, diesel etc); that includes a BP station only 100 yards away.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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