Hertfordshire County Council confirms there are no plans to introduce petrol stations for key workers

Hertfordshire County Council has confirmed there are no plans to introduce key worker petrol stations, despite calls from the Mayor of Watford to designate some stations for key workers only.

On Wednesday, September 29, elected Mayor of Watford, Peter Taylor, asked the county council to consider designating some petrol stations for key workers to avoid essential services being disrupted.

Drivers in Hertfordshire are still facing long queues to fill-up a week into the crisis, and shortages in some areas could continue into next week.

The Government has insisted there is no fuel shortage, and it was a supply issue as a result of a lack of drivers to supply petrol to forecourts.

To prevent major disruption for key workers, Liberal Democrats in Watford called on the county council to consider designating some stations for key workers.

Similar action was taken during the September 2000 fuel crisis.

Peter Taylor said “I have been contacted by several key workers who are struggling to get fuel for their jobs.

"I have raised this with Hertfordshire County Council and asked them to consider designating some petrol stations for key workers to ensure that our essential services can continue as normal.

“I would encourage everyone to be considerate of others and only get fuel if you need it.”

Stephen Giles-Medhurst (Liberal Democrat, Central Watford and Oxhey), leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Hertfordshire County Council added that he had spoken to colleagues at the county council about the measure, but was told it would only be possible with permission from the Government.

Hertfordshire County Council has now confirmed there are no plans to introduce key worker petrol stations or any other emergency measures to deal with the shortage.

The county council added there had been no major impact or disruption to the delivery of their service.

Councillor Richard Roberts, Leader of Hertfordshire County Council said: “We understand that fuel stocks are now stabilising and we can all help this situation in Hertfordshire by following the Government advice and continuing with our normal arrangements for filling up with fuel.

“By continuing to act in a sensible way, we can avoid further disruption to us all, and in particular to key workers.

“In addition to many staff continuing to work from home where they can, we’ve also seen an increase of informal car-sharing arrangements, as well as anecdotal evidence that more children are walking to school this week.”