Jim Webber reports ……….that the only petrol station at Paraparaumu Beach, Challenge Kapiti, is back in the fuel business.
For more than three months it has been the petrol-pump equivalent of the pub with no beer, victim of a problem involving fuel supply, banks and management issues.
The fuel drought broke at 4am on Monday with a tanker delivery that saw the beach bowser able to fill vehicles again. Waiting to replenish the Challenge tanks at the corner of Seaview Road and McLean Street — at $30,000 a time — has been a delicate balancing act for owner Grant Anderson.
“For me it’s been mostly cashflow and balances,” he said.
Grant Anderson is full of praise for the local community which has borne the brunt of having no local fuel for cars — and particularly for the large fleet of boats: “People have been so good and supportive,” he says.
The no-petrol station has never closed during the fuel drought but has continued to supply its usual retail lines and a few more as well to help the business stay afloat.
Updated 10th March 2009