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A new Shell filling station on the M25 at Cobham, part of a massive development by Extra MSA Group, is opened this summer and it’s big…
There will be 36 filling positions on the main forecourt and six on the HGV forecourt. There will also be an extensive amenity area boasting a number of big name brands such as McDonald’s, KFC, M&S Simply Food and Starbucks among others. Safe to say, then, it’s big. The underground fuel storage tanks, for example, have the capacity for more than a million litres. “It would take a week to fill them up with one truck making four deliveries a day. It’s grand, to say the least,” smiles Alex Shattock, disposals & Acquisitions Co-ordinator for Shell retail and the man responsible for coordinating the Cobham project, from Shell’s point of view, up until the opening. It’s a coup for the Shell network. “It is in an important, strategic position,” explains Alex. Motorists and fleet drivers will welcome the addition of these facilities on this particular stretch of the motorway, where there is currently a gap of 63 miles between existing services. Cobham is in a unique location midway between Heathrow and Gatwick airports and is accessible from both sides of the road via its own dedicated junction – a £20 million civil engineering project. The overall investment by the Extra MSA Group is £75 million.
It’s also not only a place just to fill up with fuel – the 60 acre site will include a food court style amenity building, with a range of big brand food and retail outlets, plus a Regus Business Centre and a 75 bedroom days Inn hotel. The Shell filling station will have its own shop serviced by six tills and a snack area selling Shell’s own deli 2 Go brand. To get everything up and running, Alex has to coordinate with at least seven areas of the business. “I have to make sure all of my colleagues are ready for the site to go live and it’s a fair few people – the likes of the marketing team; engineering, as we are using our project managers to ensure our shop is built to our standards; the shop marketing team, because we’ve got to get the layout right; distribution, so that that tankers turn up…Actually, one of the biggest challenges is going to be for IT to get the tills to work and to be compliant with regulation.”Alex is modest about his role but it’s a mighty task. As has been the journey for everyone involved, Shell and Extra, to get to this point. Original planning was granted for the site in 1999 – why so long between that original decision and work getting underway in spring of last year? Andrew Long, Chief Executive of Extra Motorway Services Area Group, picks up the story:“It’s been a long and hard fought battle. We applied for planning permission in 1995.
There was a Public Inquiry, plus four connected Public Inquiries held into competitor locations. Planning was first granted to Extra in 1999, only to have it quashed by the High Court after a successful challenge to the Secretary of State’s decision on legal technicality grounds. Back to another Public Inquiry. Extra was finally granted planning in 2005.
“We have worked hard to build a rapport with local groups who originally objected to the development. They feared it would be detrimental to their locality but once they could see the form the development was taking, many have now complimented Extra on our work.”
The scheme includes substantial landscaping of the surrounding area to create large mounds of earth between the site and downside village, acting as a visual screen and noise bund. Beyond the hotel will be an eco area with reeds and grasses that it’s hoped will attract local wildlife back to the area, a rainwater harvester will be used for flushing toilets and a man made lake will deal with the surface water run off from paved areas and acts as a pleasant place for people to walk their dogs or sit outside.
Cobham is also a good news story in a time of economic gloom – following the opening the service area will employ around 400 people. For Andrew it’s simply “a great feeling seeing it come up out of the ground after working on the project for 17 years.”
Alex is equally as excited: “I relish coordinating many people from many different functions to a common goal.”
And for the customers? It’s a welcome new stop on the road.
And best news you will be able to use your Shell Fuel cards from The Fuelcard People and save on your fuel purchases and reduce your administration costs.
Talk to Steve Gale, or any of The Fuelcard People, on 0844 870 9856, email them at info@thefuelcardpeople.co.uk or see our home page for full information.
