Loss of LPG stations
In reply to a recent letter, ‘Fuel to the Flames’, regarding LPG availability (April, p12), I live in Stoke-on-Trent. The headquarters of Safefill bottles have now closed and the LPG filling station with it.
When places like this close it shows dramatically it’s on the decline. Around me there are no service stations that sell LPG.
The only ones left are two independent sellers, one who refuses to fill proper Safefill or Gaslow bottles, unless they are connected to a vehicle.
The opening times are, to be honest, disappointing. I understand there are areas still covered, but now becoming less and places where you can actually take a refillable bottle are becoming fewer. It’s a shame because this is another thing pricing people out of their hobby.
David Asling
ED We asked Safefill to comment as David directly mentions it. John Walters got back to us:
“After being on the Fenton site for nearly 22 years the decision to leave and close the refill centre was made for a number of reasons, but mainly because of the requirement to hold more stock. The distribution of the Safefill cylinders is now handled by one of our agents, which at the moment, seems to be working well. This has enabled us to hold more stock which in turn has stopped the feast and famine that affected deliveries over the last few years. Unfortunately this move has removed the sale of LPG to customers that were local to us.
“Further to the comment about the lack of LPG at forcourt outlets across the UK. There are many reasons for the decline in LPG as a fuel available for vehicles and this comes down to both the general public and the supply industry.
“Firstly the general public:
The option to run vehicles on LPG has slowly been removed by vehicle manufacturers in the rush for diesel and now electric vehicles, both of which were and still are to achieve lower CO2 emissions. In my opinion if the public had supported the fuel more in the first place then this may not have happened.
“The supply: If the demand at the forcourt drops then common sense says that the least used pump will be removed. The upside for our customers for the filling of our or any other refillable cylinders on the market is that more independent filling points are opened. But obviously this takes time and investment. We have been involved in a number of sites which do seem to be working well and hope to do more.
“But even these sites find it difficult to get LPG delivered from a number of bulk retailers, once again showing that there is little to no interest in offering the public an alternative to exchange cylinders.
“I would say and always have to any customers, before you buy any refillable system, check your local area for availability of LP’. I would also urge your readers to lobby the industry and their own MP about the removal of choice from forecourt operations. After all, LPG was, and still is, about the cleanest fuel we have at the moment.”