How family firm stood test of time
There was a time when petrol was served at garages large and small, alongside car sales, and a member of staff would come out to the pumps to serve you.
As national chains took over and family-run petrol stations began to die out, one garage which survived the changing trends and has stood the test of time is Bognor Motors Vehicle Solutions.
Director Justin Kracke joined the business in 1989. His grandad Ron had started the company in 1949, with his dad Ian joining later, and he guided the company for more than 50 years. Oli Hicklin arrived in 1999 and when Ian retired, Oli became an owner and director in 2005.
The company, which can trace its origins back to April 17, 1924, has traded in various locations, including premises in Charlwood Street for servicing and repairs, and the old
Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in High Street before it was demolished in 1980.
The chapel had been built in 1840 with seating for about 200 people but it was found to be too small and closed in 1920. The site was purchased by Mrs Esther Cohen for £3,500 and leased to her son for use as a garage, which later became Bognor Motors.
The company also began operating in Longford Road in 1963, where an attended petrol station was opened.
The petrol pumps moved to self-service in 1982 and by 1990, premises either side were acquired for car sales, while the servicing moved to London Road.
The Longford Road garage became the only petrol station in Bognor Regis town centre in 2003, when Hillsboro Garage closed.
Bognor Motors was the only family-run petrol station for miles around, the last survivor as the national chains gathered strength. It had been in existence for 75 years and owned by the same family since 1949 but things were about to change.
A planning application for flats was finally approved 20 years ago, after several failed attempts, and Regis Gate was built on the garage site in Longford Road.
Bognor Motors has operated from Christie Place, Durban Road Industrial Estate, since September 2005 and opened its second site in Bognor Road, Chichester, in April 2015 for camper hire, daily rental and vehicle sales.