News / Stunt to highlight inflated island fuel prices
A SHETLAND country shop has vowed to sell the cheapest fuel in whole of the UK – for one day only.
Tagon Stores, a busy roadside shop in the village of Voe, 20 miles north of Lerwick, will sell diesel at 95pence per litre and unleaded patrol at 98p, all day on Thursday (4 February).
The shop is located 10 miles away from the Sullom Voe oil terminal, one of the largest in Europe.
The stunt is aimed at highlighting the burden of paying the highest fuel prices in the UK, while living in an area where a car is a necessity, but it is also meant as a big “thank you” to the local community.
Couple Ryan and Lesley Thomson said they fulfilled a lifelong dream when they took over award-winning Tagon Stores in April last year.
By running a fuel promotion, the Thomsons follow in the footsteps of previous owners Scott and Phoebe Preston, who slashed pump prices in March 2012 as “a practical protest against inflated island fuel prices.”
Ryan Thomson said that, according to the independent fuel price comparison site petrolproices.com , Tagon Stores would become “the cheapest place in the whole of the United Kingdom for both diesel and petrol prices”.
“We are happy that for once, Shetland isn’t just on par with the rest of the UK for fuel prices, we’re beating them!
“This is a thank you to all of the Voe community for the warm welcome we’ve received since taking over the shop, and we are happy, even for one day, that Voe is able to provide a price at the pump which beats the rest of the country.
“Hopefully this also highlights a serious issue – that Shetland has the most expensive fuel in the country and we’re right on Sullom Voe’s doorstep.
He said both the tanks were full, containing around 4,000 litres of fuel each, adding that he anticipated running out of fuel by the middle of the afternoon.
In line with the rest of the country, fuel prices in Shetland have come down significantly over recent months after the cost of oil tumbled globally.
Fuel prices in the Scottish islands also benefit from a 5p fuel duty rebate, brought in by the Liberal Democrats five years ago. The rebate was extended to 17 rural mainland areas in June last year.
Yet prices at the pumps remain n higher than in the rest of the UK. On Wednesday average prices in Lerwick were 105.9 per litre for diesel and 110.9 for unleaded.
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