Top 50 Indie The Kay Group has started work this month on its 25th forecourt: a new to industry prime position site which took 10 years to acquire planning, and is its first just moments off a motorway.
Stafford Gate Service Station at J14 of the M6 in the West Midlands is part of a 16-acre site which has outline permission for commercial and leisure facilities, which could include a David Lloyd sports centre.
The Shell forecourt itself – planned to open April 2027 – will be on a spacious 1.86-acre plot, with the petrol station taking up 1.25 acres. It is next to a roundabout which sees over 44,000 vehicles a day, from three main arterial roads.
The site, which will be among the biggest for The Kay Group, will be direct managed. It will include a large format Costa drive-thru, and four fuel islands dispensing all petrol and diesel grades from eight hoses, with accompanying AdBlue pumps.
There will also be two EV charging points, along with a five-bay jet wash hub, two vacuums, an air/screenwash machine with contactless payment options, and a free ATM, together with external seating.
The shop, like the rest of The Kay Group estate, will take the Londis fascia, after the business recently renewed its contract with Booker on its existing estate through to 2032. Greggs and Subway are also partners for the store.
Utility saving measures include a full climate control package, modern lighting to maximise efficiency, forecourt lighting controls with daylight sensors to prevent unnecessary energy use, and optimised temperature setpoints across refrigerators.
There will also be solar panels installed. And a rainwater harvesting system will dispense into a 30,000 litre tank to run the jet washing facility, which The Kay Group estimates will save it 50% on water usage.
The Blackburn-based operator has secured a 250-year lease from Strawson Holdings after 10 years of what it describes as “a demanding, and challenging planning process”, taking more than three times the amount of time it would expect on such a development.
The project was held up by complicated S278 works – public highway improvements required of the private developer – to both sides of the roundabout. And it was further hampered by Covid, and the extensive M6 conversion to smart motorway.
To get things moving, The Kay Group has decided to build the shell of the site while the 35 weeks of S278 works, which started at the beginning of July, are ongoing.
The Kay Group non-executive director Paul Blackmore says that the investment illustrates how the business continues to support the petrol retail industry.
“Physically it [the Stafford site] will meet all the customer requirements needs of today, with our normal outstanding customer service through directly managed staff and presentation standards,” he adds.
