All Pitstop articles – Page 5
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NewsShop Doctor: In the surgery this month - Broadway Garage, Broadstairs, Kent
LOCATION: Just outside Broadstairs on the A255 are two large retail parks both part of the Westwood Gateway complex including major superstores offering fuel at highly competitive prices. They provide fierce competition for my target site the Broadway Garage trading as Morrison’s Budgens of Broadstairs. FORECOURT: The forecourt is ...
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NewsShop Doctor: In the surgery this month Bellingers Service Station, Grove, Wantage, Oxfordshire
LOCATION: A business with a service station, shop, franchise to sell new and used Vauxhall and Chevrolet cars and a micro-brewery must be worth a visit! Bellingers has two sites one in Abingdon and my target at Grove. It is on the A338 just outside Wantage and is clearly visible ...
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NewsShop Doctor: In the surgery this month - Ings Service Station, Staveley, Cumbria
LOCATION: Just outside Windermere, on the A591, is the small village of Ings and my target its service station. The forecourt and shop are co-located and part of a large area that also includes a significant parking area, a restaurant/motel (now closed and boarded up) and one of The Lakeland ...
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NewsShop Doctor: In the surgery this month - Brian Llewelyn, a’i Ferched, Penfro, Eglwyswrw, Crymych, Pembrokeshire
LOCATION: My target is in the beautiful holiday area of North Pembrokeshire. It’s located on the B4329, just outside the small village of Eglwyswrw. Part of the Brian Llewelyn enterprise, last year it won the award as Forecourt Trader’s Best Forecourt Retailer in the West Country and Wales, in ...
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NewsShop Doctor: In the surgery this month - Applegreen, Petrogas, High St, Uckfield, East Sussex
LOCATION: At the southern end of Uckfield is a Petrogas Applegreen site. This was the first Applegreen to introduce a Subway store and a new store design. I was interested to see it now, after about a year of trading. FORECOURT: The pole with the distinctive Applegreen logo shows ...
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NewsShop Doctor: In the surgery this month - Fraser Budgens, Marlborough, Wilts
LOCATION: My target is the prize-winning Fraser Budgens site at Marlborough. It’s located on the Marlborough Business Park, just a mile from the town centre, opposite a large Tesco (no fuel). FORECOURT: The site is large and clearly visible from the main road thanks to the BP-branded pole and ...
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NewsShop Doctor: In the surgery this month - Essentials Meon Hut, West Meon, Petersfield, Hants
LOCATION: Last year, following a few weeks closure for a new-build, this site re-opened as Essentials of West Meon a Nisa/BP Service Station FORECOURT: It’s a prominent corner site with an illuminated price pole and access on both the A272 and A32. Four islands of pumps are covered by ...
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NewsShop Doctor: In the surgery this month MRH Oxshott, High Street, Oxshott, Surrey
LOCATION: The village of Oxshott is located between Esher and Leatherhead. Close to the main Chelsea FC training ground, it has been described as the "most expensive village with the most footballers in England". My reason for this visit is MRH Retail’s new convenience store, Hursts. FORECOURT: Located at ...
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NewsShop Doctor: In the surgery this month - Brobot Corby Southern Gateway, Corby, Northants
GENERAL APPEARANCE: On the north west outskirts of Corby, at a roundabout, is the new Southern Gateway Business Park. Currently it only has three completed developments - a Premier Inn, a Beefeater restaurant and my target, the award-winning Brobot site. LOCATION: On the north west outskirts of Corby, at a ...
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NewsShop Doctor: In the surgery this month - B&M Harland, Malton Rd, Pickering, North Yorkshire
GENERAL APPEARANCE: Pickering, just south of the North Yorkshire moors, is probably equidistant between Whitby, York, Thirsk and Scarborough. My target is the B&M Harland service station, because it is the first to sell Spar-branded fuels. FORECOURT: Located on the A169 main road to Malton and York, just outside ...
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NewsShop Doctor: In the surgery this month - GH Lunn & Sons, Simply Fresh Weare, Axbridge, Somerset
GENERAL APPEARANCE: I have read a lot of positive reports about Simply Fresh the fast-growing symbol group that places great emphasis on community-based, family-owned businesses that are encouraged to support local suppliers. The rustic style of branding promotes the concept of fresh foods and has an intriguing tag line ’convenience ...
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NewsShop Doctor: In the surgery this month - Wellington Service Station, Archway Rd, London N6
GENERAL APPEARANCE: The Esso Snack & Shop Wellington Service Station is virtually located on an ’island’! An island made up of the Archway Road (A1) and North Hill that joins Aylmer Road and leads onto the North Circular with its access to the M1. Traffic is constant, at times horrific, ...
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NewsShop Doctor: In the surgery this month - Milton Road Service Station, Southsea
GENERAL APPEARANCE: I felt it high time I visited a Shop’N Drive site so ’stuck a pin’ in the Rontec website Petrol Station Finder and came up with Milton Road, Southsea. FORECOURT: My target is well identified by an Esso-branded pole and canopy. The forecourt is quite a good ...
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NewsShop Doctor: In the surgery this month: Applegreen Fairies Cross, Oakpark Road, Tralee, Co Kerry
GENERAL APPEARANCE: Applegreen Fairies Cross is located in the Republic of Ireland on the outskirts of Tralee, the county town of County Kerry. It is a corner site with a lot of passing traffic and is near the Kerry Technology Park and the Tralee Pitch & Putt Club. The distinctive ...
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NewsShop Doctor: Freshwater Garages, Isle of Wight
GENERAL APPEARANCE: Freshwater Garages is in Freshwater town centre, on the Isle of Wight. It is on a corner, is very visible and is opposite a large Southern Co-op. FORECOURT: The Pace-branded site is long and narrow. The pole shows illuminated fuel prices and the different parts of the ...
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NewsShop Doctor: Shell Halfmoon, Epping, Essex
GENERAL APPEARANCE: I was happy to pull into the Shell Halfmoon service station as its advertised pole prices were competitive. I also needed a snack for lunch and was interested to again sample some of the Shell ’Deli2go’ range. FORECOURT: It’s a medium-size forecourt with a planting area to ...
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NewsShop Doctor: In the surgery this month - Joblings Garage, Bicester, Oxon
GENERAL APPEARANCE: A Forecourt Trader reader suggested a visit to a site with friendly staff, Joblings Garage in Bicester. It is a BP/Mace site, right next door to the Joblings family’s official Kia and Peugeot new and used motor business. FORECOURT: The garage, with its BP corporate pole and ...
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News
Shop Doctor: BP Wisbech Road Service Station, Littleport, Cambridgeshire
GENERAL APPEARANCE: This site, developed by the James Graven group, is perhaps better known as Spar Littleport and for winning best environmentally friendly outlet awards. In October 2012 the enterprise was leased to BP. I have long wanted to visit the site and what better time than now, some four ...
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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 ...