Independent dealer Mike Dransfield of Nesscliffe Services is to invest £1.6m building a new state-of-the art service station on the very bypass that looked set to blight his business when it was built more than two years ago.
The new road – the A5 bypass – took the main traffic away from Mike’s 23-year-old village forecourt in Nesscliffe, near Shrewsbury, in Shropshire, which he runs with his son Mark, and which provides a vital service to the locals with its post office and small store.
However, instead of being beaten by the situation, Mike has taken the bull by the horns and put all his efforts into the new greenfield development, fighting a mountain of bureaucracy along the way.
“It’s taken us three years to get where we are, but now building is about to start on the new site which will be a full-blown service station with fast food and grocery store,” he said. “It should be completed by October. I have already signed contracts with Jet and Spar.
“At this stage what we’re doing is completely opposite to what is happening in the market in terms of small forecourts closing down. But we’re going to buck the trend. There is confidence in the industry – it’s just a question of
finding it.
“I believe the industry has got to develop in a different way. We’ve got to provide the service for customers that they want – so we’ve got to offer them convenience.”
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