Fuel desert fears over fill-up crisis

Parts of the UK are at risk of becoming fuel deserts with nowhere for motorists to fill up their cars after it emerged that the number of filling stations has fallen to its lowest level since 1913. Then there were around 10,100 places for motorists to fill up. Today, however, there are 9,400 outlets servicing a British car parc of more than 33 million vehicles. Due to tiny margins, fierce competition and high overheads, petrol retailing is unattractive. According to the Petrol Retailers’ Association, an efficient fuel retailing business will gross just 2% a year on investment. Such poor returns have resulted in only around 20 forecourts opening in the last five years, the majority of which are attached to supermarkets. Forecourt closures continue at about 450 every year. At such a rate of decline, it will take only a further four years for the number of filling station to drop below 7,500 - the number estimated by the PRA that are needed to keep the country moving. PRA director Ray Holloway, who has met with a cross-party group of MPs, to discuss what can be done to reverse the decline, said: “The situation could become critical if the total number of forecourts continues to drop at the rate of recent years.”

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