Highland Fuels is delighted to be featured in SLR Magazine for the ways we are making a positive impact locally - a commitment that’s at the heart of everything we do.
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Operated by Highland Fuels, Balfron Filling Station is remarkable on a number of levels and was a very worthy winner of the Forecourt of the Year Award at the SLR Awards earlier this year. The win also made a little bit of history by marking the first victory in the Awards by a Morrisons Daily store.
Acquired by Highland Fuels back in 2022, the site had been a Ford car dealership for more than 20 years that had a small 100sq ft kiosk that served as the token gesture to retail. Balfron is a small semi-rural village with a population of about 2,000 people and it sits around 16 miles north of Glasgow and 18 miles west of Stirling.
With little in the way of competition, however, and little of any description in the village, to be frank, the new owners could clearly see the potential for building not only a fantastic, modern store and forecourt but also a site that would play a critical role in revitalising the entire community.
Starting afresh
The rebuild was a true ‘knock it down and start again’ job and delivered a stunning 2,800sq ft store that acts as a one-stop-shop for the local populace. On the forecourt there’s a modern four-pump offer including premium unleaded grades and a 24-hour pay at the pump service.
The site has 22 parking spaces with two accessible bays, two jet wash units, an electric charging unit and customer toilets with baby changing facilities.
But it’s the store itself that truly blew the judges away. Being a new build, the store has been designed as a perfect rectangle and features everything most customers could want.
Food to go is covered by an Auld’s hot and cold range as well as a bank of self-serve units including Pret Express coffee, Reece’s Hot Chocolate, Skiwshee slush and a Rollover Hotdog machine.
There’s a very extensive fresh and chilled range, as well as a large focus on locally and nationally sourced Scottish products and freshly baked Morrisons products. The standard convenience offer – confectionery, crisps, BWS, vapes, frozen and so on – are all given plenty of space and there’s also a wealth of services including National Lottery, PayPoint, a free-to-use ATM, Inpost Parcel Lockers and self-service checkouts alongside the manned tillpoint.
While the forecourt itself will act as a big footfall driver, manager Duncan McMillan estimates that fuel sales will account for “only about 50% of our turnover”, a reflection of the strength of the retail offer.
Done right
There’s no question too that the fit-out has been done well. The store is big, roomy and brightly lit, making for a modern, relaxed and engaging shopping environment.
The fixtures and fittings used throughout are high spec and great quality, and the attention to detail is commendable, in no small part down to Duncan and his team. An experienced store management team are supported by an engaged group of colleagues, all trained routinely using online training platforms and powered by formal competitor reviews and data-driven analysis of EPoS data to continually refine and hone the range and pricing.
The store is also meticulously maintained and cleaned with all fixtures chock full and beautifully merchandised.
The judges found the store a pleasure to browse and shop; the range has clearly been designed to ensure that shoppers can find everything they need for every mission, whether they’re looking for a hot breakfast, a healthy lunch, or ingredients to prepare tonight’s dinner.
All told, it’s a thoroughly modern and slick convenience store that wouldn’t be out of place on a high street in Glasgow or Edinburgh. But it’s not in a big city, it’s in a small village. It’s clear that the new store and forecourt have already had a massive impact on the local community, providing the village with a much-needed hub and saving locals from having to drive many miles to a supermarket or petrol station.
Community focus
This community hub focus is arguably the most impressive aspect of Balfron Filling Station. For the first time ever, the 2,000 locals have all of their daily needs met and it requires nothing more than a 30-second drive or a five-minute walk. And the store is at least the equal of any forecourt you’ll find in Scotland.
And that’s not to forget the 13 new jobs that the store brought to Balfron.
Quantifying the positive impact a store has on the community it serves is a tricky task but it’s crystal clear from the looks on the faces of the customers visiting Balfron Filling Station that it has been enthusiastically embraced by the local community – and it’s not hard to understand why.
