Abingdon Tesco Extra petrol station closes for a revamp

The petrol station off Marcham Road is staffed by Tesco workers and sells the cheapest petrol in town.

It closed for the revamp at the weekend and signs up outside say it will not reopen until Friday, March 1 so that improvements can be made.

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It advises drivers that the nearest alternative Tesco filling station is in Wallingford Road, Didcot.

There is an Esso filling station a short distance away at the Marcham Road entrance to the Tesco site but it is more expensive.

There is also a BP filling station on Oxford Road but its prices are not as cheap as the Tesco filling station either.

Drivers were pulling up outside the Tesco Extra filling station today and leaving disappointed.

A Tesco spokesperson said: “Our Abingdon Extra petrol station is closed for the next five weeks in order to install a more modern canopy. We apologise for the inconvenience.”

Another alternative for Abingdon drivers seeking competitive petrol prices is to drive four miles to the filling station in Sutton Courtenay.

Sometimes this garage is not staffed but you can fill up and then pay at the pump with a debit or credit card.

Petrol prices rocketed in the summer but have now fallen again.

In the latest development, petrol stations will be forced to share near-live information on price changes at the pump to help drivers find the cheapest petrol and diesel, after the government accused them of treating motorists as “cash cows”.

Petrol station owners will be required to provide data within half an hour of any change as part of a political effort to bring transparency to the sector amid concerns that drivers are being ripped off.

Since last August, a dozen big players in the forecourt market – including supermarket groups Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons – have voluntarily provided fuel price data each day to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

The plans will make it a legal requirement for all fuel retailers in the UK to provide the data to the government on a near-live basis.

Local authorities will be handed powers to impose financial penalties on petrol stations that do not comply with the new rules.

The plans are subject to an eight-week consultation period.

The government and motoring groups have repeatedly accused fuel retailers of ripping off consumers and not passing on falls in wholesale prices.

On Tuesday, the energy security secretary, Claire Coutinho, said: “We are forcing retailers to share live information on their prices within 30 minutes of any change in price, helping drivers to find the best deal at the pump.

“This will put motorists back in the driving seat and bring much-needed competition back to the forecourts.”

Falling oil prices helped the average price of a litre of petrol hit 139.7p last week – its lowest level since October 2021, the government said.

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

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