Petrol station 'losing thousands' due to roadworks

Shawbury Service Station has been run by Tim and Chloe Wilfort's family for more than 50 years

The owner of a family-run petrol station says roadworks during the past year have cost his business thousands of pounds.

Tim Wilfort, who runs Shawbury Service Station in Shropshire, believes works to resurface the A53 are not taking the impact on local businesses into account, and says if the road is closed, the garage has to "shut for a full day, with no offer of any compensation".

Some of the roadworks are being carried out by BT Openreach, which has apologised over access issues.

A spokesperson told the BBC the utility provider worked "closely with local authorities" to minimise disruption.

Shropshire Council, which is responsible for the A53 in the county, said standard practice by the authority was to consult with local businesses and homeowners to arrange suitable provisions if access to properties could be compromised.

In that scenario, the council could impose permit conditions - but it said the original permit application for the location of the works did not indicate access issues.

It said it was investigating whether the works by carried out between 11 and 13 August had operated outside the boundaries of the authorised area.

Shawbury Service Station has been in Tim and Chloe Wilfort's family for more than 50 years.

It is a small, independent petrol station, in a village with a population of 3,000 people including its RAF base.

Its location on the busy A53 that connects Shrewsbury to Staffordshire and beyond means there is always a steady stream of cars passing through.

But Mr Wilfort said the roadworks - which began in September 2024 and had been continuing on and off - meant he had "lost trade through no fault of our own".

'Unwilling to be helpful'

Mr Wilfort, 40, said that in September last year, he "had to physically close for two weeks with obviously no income for the whole period", despite still having to pay contracted staff wages.

"Then a couple of weeks ago we had some work carried out [on the road] where they completely blocked the entrance to the forecourt without any prior notice," he added.

Despite the A53 being a busy trunk road, Mr Wilfort said that when there were roadworks, people "tend to avoid the area wherever possible".

"We're talking [losing] thousands [of pounds] a day if we're not open, especially on a busy day," he said.

"It's a cost that we can't recoup unless we try and chase for it, and [authorities] are very unwilling to be helpful about it."

More roadworks will be taking place soon, meaning the road outside the petrol station will be closed

Whether it was resurfacing battered tarmac or installing fibre optic cables, Mr Wilfort said he recognised that works did need to take place.

But as his petrol station relies on cars being able to easily access the forecourt, he is calling for more cooperation with local businesses, with works by Scottish Power about to begin to replace old telegraph poles.

He said he wanted to see "a bit more understanding initially from the companies that are carrying out the works".

"You just feel like if I didn't say anything they would just come to us and they just expect us just to close and just deal with it - there's never any offer of, you know, what could they do to help us?" he explained.

In a statement, BT Openreach said it was "really sorry for temporarily making access difficult to the service station in Shawbury last week", adding it worked "closely with local authorities and follow their guidance to always minimise disruption".

A spokesperson for Scottish Power said its teams had "worked closely with relevant local stakeholders to plan out this activity to try to minimise any disruption" and apologised "for any inconvenience caused."

Shropshire Council said it was investigating the "deviation" by contractors working on behalf of BT.

A statement said: "We sincerely apologise for the disruption and inconvenience caused to the business affected.

"Shropshire Council takes these matters seriously and is committed to ensuring that all statutory undertakers working on the county's road network adhere to the requirements of agreed permits.

"Where breaches are identified, appropriate enforcement action will be taken."