Local pumps could be gone within 10 years

With Rural Wales paying up to 5p a litre more than average for fuel, a watchdog has made a startling claim that towns like Newtown could see its forecourts disappear within a decade.

 

And the town is part of a bigger trend that is sweeping Rural Wales and threatening a vital service to small communities.

 

Brian Madderson, chairman of RMI Petrol, an organisation that represents independent petrol stations, said rural forecourt closures in Wales were high.

 

“I've been looking at statistics for closures and the rate of rural forecourt closures in Wales is 50% of all the closures,” he said. “That's more than double the rate across the UK so your rural sites are closing much faster and causing a lot of damage to economies. We can see by the end of the decade Wales probably having no rural stations at all, which is almost unthinkable.”

 

The news comes as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, admitted measures needed to be taken to help areas like Welshpool.

 

Mr. Alexander told the BBC's Politics Show: "We recognise that this for many families is a serious issue."

 

In 2009, The Sun newspaper reported that 600 village fuel pumps were closing a year. The average price of unleaded fuel is currently £1.32 in Wales.