Rural Fuel Poverty

For most country dwellers, you have two choices, you buy fuel for your car or you stay within walking distance.

Public Transport isn't really an alternative for any but a very few journeys. I have a 6pm meeting in Birmingham next week. Correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I can tell I cannot use public transport unless I'm prepared to stay overnight. Even if I was prepared to stay, my 3 hour round trip would take considerably longer by Public Transport and require multiple changes, anyone of which, if missed would add to the duration.

Much has been written of late about Rural Fuel Poverty, and whilst I have to agree, those of us who choose to live in the Country have little choice about using fuel, the fuel itself isn't necessarily more expensive, it just depends on local competition.

Last weekend I undertook a journey of some 200 miles most of which was on A roads rather then the Motorway. This meant that I passed more Petrol stations than usual.

The good thing is that it could be said that there is no monopoly and no cartels because the price varied so widely from one station to the next. I guess if I have recorded each price, then a pattern might have emerged, and cheaper fuel might have been available where there was a cluster of filing stations, perhaps with a major supermarket setting the price. What did seem evident from my very unscientific casual study was that certain brands always seemed to be more expensive than others.

I think the reason that Tenbury & Ludlow seem to have prices at the higher end of the scale, is that there is little in the way of competition. The majority of the Petrol stations are the same brand, and what competiton there is, is from high price brands.  Whereas fuel in Leominster fuel is constantly much cheaper, influenced no doubt by Morrison's and because Total consistently seem to offer much better prices.

 Diesel Prices at the time of publication


1  Sainsbury Hereford £136.9
1  Sainsbury Kidderminster £136.9
1  Tesco Kidderminster £136.9
1  Total Kidderminster £136.9
2  Morrisons Leominster £138.9
3  Total Leominster £139.9
4  Tuffins Texaco Craven Arms £140.9
5  Tuffins Texaco Ludlow £141.9
5  Tuffins Texeco Cleobury £141.9
6  Swan Texaco Tenbury £143
7  Ludford Bridge Shell Ludlow £143.9
8  UK Fuel Great Witley £144.9
9  UK Fuel Mawley Oak £145
10 Murco Hopton Bank £146


Where did I fill up?
(Both pre-budget)
Total Farnham £138.9
Tesco Welshpool £138.9