The petrol station that’s so cheap drivers make a 50-mile round trip!
DRIVERS enjoying the beauty of the Yorkshire Dales know that filling stations are hard to find.
But folk have no problem locating tiny Dale Head Garage in Hawes, as queues stretching down the road testify.
Some are said to be making 50-mile round trips – driven by bargain fuel prices.
The petrol station was struggling for survival in private hands but hasn’t looked back since it was bought by the community just over a year ago. The not-forprofit Upper Dales Community Partnership has grossed £1.5million in the past 12 months – double the figure it saw when it was privately owned.
Helped by the government rural rebate scheme that allows filling stations in designated areas to claim back 5p per litre duty, it has kept prices as low as possible. Petrol is currently 119.5p a litre and diesel 122.5p – figures even supermarkets struggle to match. Prices are around 3p per litre below the petrol average in the region and 4p lower for diesel.
Queues mean diversions have sometimes been needed to keep traffic flowing.
UDCP chairman John Blackie said the station is taking delivery of 30,000 litres of fuel every five days. ‘It’s been an incredible success,’ he said. ‘Firstly, because the local community is very supportive of what we do and, secondly, being from the Upper Dales they are very keen on a bargain, and it’s definitely a bargain.
‘We don’t rush to put prices up but we certainly rush to decrease them if the price to us drops.’
Mr Blackie said the cheap prices help boost the local economy. ‘Affordable fuel is invaluable if our rural communities are to have a bright future,’ he added.
Motorists at the pumps agree. Farmer’s wife Anne Fawcett, 68, said: ‘We use a lot of diesel on the farm and it’s been great for us to have somewhere local to fill up cheaply. It’s a remote area and so often we’re penalised financially for where we live.
‘People are coming from miles around. I have friends 25 miles away who use this garage. It’s a great example of how a community can come together to help people.’