All Pitstop articles – Page 6
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News
Shop Doctor: Morrisons Petrol Station, West Bay Rd, Bridport, Dorset
GENERAL APPEARANCE: Just south of Bridport, on the B3157, is a Morrisons. But my stealth check target was the supermarket’s petrol station and shop. FORECOURT: The petrol station and its shop are right by the entrance to the superstore. The large forecourt looked functional and the approach to the ...
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NewsShop Doctor: Budgens of Wells, Somerset
GENERAL APPEARANCE: Not far from the cathedral is the Forecourt Trader of the Year 2012 prize-winning enterprise, Budgens of Wells. Opened in July 2011, the BP forecourt and Budgens store is located in the heart of a dense housing area. FORECOURT: The site has impact thanks to the BP-branded ...
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NewsShop Doctor: Ward End Service Station, Birmingham
GENERAL APPEARANCE: Ward End Service Station is the unit where Booker recently introduced its new Premier Food & Fuel concept. The bespoke offer is now being rolled out. The trial received good publicity and I was keen to make a ’stealth check’ on the test store. FORECOURT: The BP ...
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NewsShop Doctor: BP/Mace Thatcham, Woolhampton, Nr Thatcham, Berkshire
GENERAL APPEARANCE: On the A4, almost midway between Newbury and Reading, is a BP Mace service station. It shares a spacious site with WCE self-drive vehicle hire and MERC servicing and repairs. FORECOURT: The BP/Mace-branded pole with illuminated fuel prices is not very visible approaching from Newbury, but better ...
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NewsShop Doctor: Rampton Service Station, Rampton, Nottinghamshire
GENERAL APPEARANCE: Roughly in the centre of a triangle comprising Lincoln, Gainsborough and Retford, is the village of Rampton and R&R Motors and Linda’s Convenience Store, which is also known as Rampton Service Station. Linda and Richard Sheppard, the owners of Rampton Service Station, were awarded a ’My Shop ...
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NewsShop Doctor: City Service Station, Commercial Road, Hereford
GENERAL APPEARANCE: In Hereford, the A4103 from Worcester leads into the busy Commercial Road. City Service Station looks like a recent conversion to a smart Harvest Energy site. FORECOURT: Driving towards the site, it is unfortunate that the pole is partly obscured by one of the city’s ...
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NewsShop Doctor: Tinkerbell Service Station, Barford St Martin, Wiltshire
GENERAL APPEARANCE: The BP/Spar Tinkerbell Service Station is just outside the village of Barford St Martin on the A30, almost at the mid-point between Salisbury and Shaftesbury. FORECOURT: The large forecourt is well signed by its BP-branded pole and canopy but seems rather stark. Some BP Olympic ...
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NewsShop Doctor: Winchester Murco Service Station
GENERAL APPEARANCE: My target is the Forecourt Trader 2010 rural category winner, a Murco/Costcutter Express situated at the Bar End area of Winchester. The enterprise is just off the M3 at junction 10 and close to the St Catherine’s and Barfield Park & Ride sites. FORECOURT: There ...
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NewsShop Doctor: Esso/On the Run Service Station, Chiswick Flyover, Chiswick, London
GENERAL APPEARANCE: Strategically positioned on the A315 Chiswick High Road, and right on top of a slip road entrance to the A4 Great West Road, is the Esso/On the Run site. High volumes of traffic must pass the site continuously. What a location but is the site capitalising on the ...
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NewsShop Doctor: Maiden Newton Service Station, Dorchester Road, Dorset
GENERAL APPEARANCE: Maiden Newton is on the A356 (Crewkerne to Dorchester) road, some nine miles from Dorchester. It is a small village with a convenience store, post office and newsagents. My target was the Texaco service station with its Spar shop. FORECOURT: The A356 through the village ...
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NewsShop Doctor: Total/Bonjour, A27 Eastbound, Emsworth, Hampshire
GENERAL APPEARANCE: The Total/Bonjour is the only service station directly on the busy east-bound A27 between Southampton and Chichester. It shares a site with a Little Chef and Travelodge. It is a popular site with drivers particularly HGV drivers as its price for fuel is generally the same as ...
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News
Shop Doctor: Deeside Service Station, Deeside Industrial Park
GENERAL APPEARANCE: Two miles from the end of the M56, on the A548 towards north Wales and at the entrance to Zone 2 of the Deeside Industrial Park, stands the large Euro Garages site (around 2.5 acres) with its 24-hour BP, Starbucks drive-thru coffee shop, Spar store and Burger King. ...
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NewsIn the surgery this month - Thornfalcon Garage, Taunton, Somerset
GENERAL APPEARANCE: The Thornfalcon Garage and shop is difficult to miss. It’s a large corner site with two Jet-branded poles one on the A358 and the other on the A378 and both include illuminated prices. And those prices were some 5ppl less than my local supermarkets so the Thornfalcon ...
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NewsIn the surgery this month - Glasbury Service Station, Glasbury-on-Wye, Herefordshire
GENERAL APPEARANCE: Glasbury Service Station is situated where the busy B4350 to Hay-on-Wye, the A470 to Brecon and the A238 to Hereford all converge. The site is signposted by a pole and a red Regent-branded canopy. FORECOURT: The forecourt has used cars for sale, ...
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NewsIn the surgery this month - Somerfield Filling Station, Hungerford, Berkshire
GENERAL APPEARANCE: On the A4 at the entrance to the town of Hungerford is a filling station. Its dominant pole tells all with its large distinctive ’T’ star, Somerfield name, 24-hour signs and illuminated fuel prices. FORECOURT: There is easy access ...
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NewsIn the surgery this month - Station Road Garage, Shipton-Under-Wychwood, Oxon
GENERAL APPEARANCE: A neat and attractive stone forecourt and shop, the Station Road Garage at Shipton-Under-Wychwood is situated on the A361 between Burford and Chipping Norton. The site on a tricky bend in the road is well signed with a bright Gulf pole and a separate Gulf and ...
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NewsIn the surgery this month - Stans Superstore & Forecourt, St Martins, Shropshire
GENERAL APPEARANCE: Stans Superstore, located in the village of St Martins just off the A5 between Wrexham and Oswestry, is a phenomenal family-run independent enterprise. The Superstore is massive (28,000sq ft) and includes a wide range of fresh food, a gift shop, restaurant, garden centre and a significant range (some ...
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NewsIn the surgery this month – NK Service Station Princethorpe, Warwickshire
GENERAL APPEARANCE: Princethorpe is situated south of Coventry on the A423 Banbury Road. It is a small hamlet with a few houses and a pub. The Pace service station is easily identified by the pole clearly displaying the new-design Pace logo. FORECOURT: The site ...
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NewsIn the surgery this month – Newport Service Station, Swindon
GENERAL APPEARANCE: In the centre of Old Town, Swindon, the Newport Service Station close to a large Co-op supermarket is easy to see thanks to its attractive Harvest Energy branding. FORECOURT: The pole had a broken bottom panel and gave the impression of a site with ...
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NewsIn the surgery this month – Bexhill Service Station, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex
GENERAL APPEARANCE: This Jet forecourt and Spar shop on the Barnhorn Road at Bexhill-on-Sea only opened a couple of months ago. The site had been derelict for five years. FORECOURT: The Jet-branded pole is clearly visible and the illuminated prices show that this service station sells cheap fuel ...