Pumps to flow again within weeks

Fuel should be restored to Waikouaiti by the new year, new provider Southfuels general manager (sales and marketing) Greg Cassidy says.

In August, a truck crashed into the then Shell station, causing its owners, Greenstone Energy, to close the station, citing the damage and the unprofitability of the small station.

Mr Cassidy said that, unlike the former Shell station, the Southfuels station would be unmanned, with petrol and diesel available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Depending on environmental testing of the underground fuel tanks, the service would be up and running in the new year, but it could be six to eight weeks later if further site work was required.

Greenstone Energy had been extremely co-operative throughout the negotiation process, he said.

Mr Cassidy said Southfuels and its northern counterpart, Northfuels, were committed to providing fuel as a service to rural communities.

Waikouaiti Coast Community Board chairman Gerard Collings said the Southfuels venture was extremely positive news for the community.

Residents had been "reluctant" to drive to Palmerston for fuel and were making arrangements to fill up in Dunedin, which was not always convenient.

He said site owners Maurice and Lynda Greer had not decided what they would do, but were taking a long-term view and might consider a business venture to complement the fuel service.