Visitors and residents of Stanley will finally have access to diesel and unleaded without leaving town from as early as Easter, according to Stanley Supermarket Manager Phil Dunne.
“It’s taken about 12 months to get it all organised and approved,” Phil said.
He says that though there has been much deliberation with council, it wasn’t the only obstacle.
“There have been a few issues getting the tanks as well throughout COVID,” Phil said.
Phil says that he had no interest in installing fuel bowsers until the service station at the turn off closed.
“We didn’t really consider it until the servo out the road closed,” he said.
“We gave it a little while to see if anyone would take it on and then decided we would look into it.”
Under arrangement with Mark and Anne Hursey the bowser will be installed on the left hand side of the building, with a 24 hour terminal to go where the ice machine currently sits.
“It’s the perfect space basically,” Phil said.
“The Hursey’s couldn’t have been more helpful, they’ve done everything they can to help me get it off the ground. It’s a good example of two businesses working together to achieve a positive community outcome.”
Phil also says that the installation is key to helping Stanley continue to grow.
“The community needs it. Small towns need to keep everything in them to stay alive,” he said.
“We have a lot of tourists come through who may not realise that there is no fuel once you get off the highway.”
Previously the closest service station was in Smithton, meaning that if tourists were coming from the south and planned on going no further than Stanley they would be forced to do a 40 kilometre round trip before leaving the region.
“It’s also really helpful for the fishermen, not having to worry about filling up before heading over,” Phil said.
Phil says that improving the infrastructure around Stanley is an important step, but that the growth of the town is stunted without blocks to build on.
“The town is in a really good spot, we just need some space to build more houses,” Phil said.
“Stanley has a real opportunity to grow.”
He also thanked Andrew Arnold for his support of the project.
“He’s been a great help to us,” he said.
Fuel to return: Stanley locals will finally have access to unleaded and diesel 24 hours a day when developments at Stanley Supermarket are complete just prior to Easter.
Extracted from Circular Head Chronicles