A design for life
Father and son revive fortunes of local garage
When Oliver Plaskitt looked to renovate North Road Garage in Shipton-by-Beningbrough, he immediately turned to Gulf as fuel suppliers to the business. For words of wisdom on the interior of the site, expert help was already at hand.
His father, Peter, a prominent face on BBC design shows including ‘Home Front’, has been integral in making the formerly run-down garage one of the focal points of the community.
“Dad knows the potential of any space just by walking into the room,” explains Oliver, a former police officer. “I had every confidence in his advice, even if I couldn’t see it myself!
“It’s changed so much since we arrived, I lived locally before we took over North Road and used to drive straight past purely because it wasn’t noticeable. Now it is like looking at a totally different place and fuels sales are up 35%.”
Having purchased the site in February 2010 and after weighing up his options with several UK providers via the internet, Oliver tied with Gulf; a decision he says has paid off.
“It’s gone very well indeed, we’re really pleased and, if everything continues, we’re on course to hit our initial target of two million litres and our shops turnover continues to grow.
“We were originally just going to have a car dealership on the site, but, after speaking with people in and around the community, it was clear to us that alongside the car sales, a petrol forecourt, supported by a strong brand, and shop was best for everyone.
“I’m an ambitious person and I want to own as many forecourts as I can in the future, but we’ve only just got this site to where we want it to be and – for a couple of months at least - we’ll be getting used to that!”
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