A forecourt that typically pumps around 18,000 litres of fuel per day has been empty because of road closures right outside the site – and it will receive no compensation for its losses.
Willesborough Service Station in Hythe Road, Ashford, Kent, is usually one of the busiest sites in the town but ‘Road closed’ signs two miles away from it have put drivers off from using it.
The first day of the roadworks – which are going on for eight weeks – saw the BP site closed off completely, but the site manager – Kirupa – spoke to the workers and asked if there could be access to the petrol station. Luckily, they moved some barriers but you have to enter and exit from the same narrow coned-off area. And there is a small sign further up the road saying that the petrol station is open but most people are ignoring it.
The roadworks began on Monday, July 7. On July 4, SGN put out this notice: “We’re about to start the third and final phase of our project in Willesborough. This work will ensure a continued safe and reliable supply of gas is delivered to nearby homes and businesses. This is part of our 30-year programme of work to replace our old mains, reaching the end of their useful lives, with new, reliable plastic pipe.”
Gas distributor SGN said its work in the area should take around four to five weeks to complete but that’s not the end of the disruption for the Willesborough Service Station because once SGN has finished, UK Power Networks will continue working within the road closure to complete its work. The companies say all work will be completed and the road re-opened before the end of the school summer holidays.
Kirupa told Forecourt Trader: “I am looking outside now, while I speak to you, and the forecourt is completely empty. The shop is empty too and we don’t qualify for any compensation because our turnover is more than £1m a year. We are losing an awful lot of money and it is affecting cash flow but there is nothing we can do.”
Owner Kanagaratnam Rajamenon took over the old, run down petrol station in 2017 and has invested heavily to make it a modern and convenient site. The total cost of buying and investing in the site is thought to be £2.7m and included new petrol tanks, an extended canopy and extra pumps. A 2,100sq ft Budgens c-store was also added. More recently jet washes and a new car wash were installed. There is a big space next to the shop that is being worked on but Kirupa said plans for the area had stalled due to the cashflow problems as a result of the roadworks.
Rules for compensation for roadworks
In 2010, Parliament said the general rule is that there is no compensation if a business is affected by roadworks. Successive governments have said businesses should not have the right in law to any particular given level of passing trade, and that traders must take the risk of loss due to temporary disruption of traffic flows along with all the other various risks of running a business.
SGN: to be eligible for compensation from SGN your business turnover has to be less than £1m as per The Gas (Street Works) (Compensation of Small Business) Regulations 1996.
