Plans could be triggered allowing Solihull Council to prioritise petrol
The measures, if imposed, would allow certain forecourts to be identified as distribution centres
Last updated 28th Sep 2021
Contingency plans allowing Solihull Council to prioritise petrol for key workers could be triggered if a mounting fuel crisis escalates.
Ministers have the option to hand sweeping powers to resilience forums – comprising of local authorities and blue light services – which lead the response at times of crisis.
Solihull’s own forum, which describes its mission as “planning, preparing and responding to emergencies”, is run in partnership with Coventry and Warwickshire.
The measures, if imposed, would also allow local teams to identify certain forecourts as distribution centres.
While such drastic steps have not yet been signed-off by government, the council has confirmed that locally it is closely monitoring the current situation.
A spokeswoman said: “We are planning to try to prevent disruptions to services and will keep the situation under review.
“If services are affected updates will be posted on the website and via social media.”
There has not yet been any impact on the likes of bin collections within the borough.
Although both locally and nationwide there are fears that the run on the pumps could start to leave key workers struggling to travel.
It was reported yesterday that one care provider in Dickens Heath was worried some staff might have to walk or cycle if the crisis continued.
Solihull Home Care said that its workforce had enough fuel to see them to the end of the week, but beyond that problems may arise.
Garages across Solihull have reported running dry in recent days, with police turning away motorists from forecourts in Olton over the weekend.
At other sites there have been lengthy queues backing onto the public road.
One Solihull retail worker, whose tank was nearly empty, yesterday spoke of her relief after being able to fill up at Bacons End.
“It’s people’s panic-buying which is causing all the problems, if people went when they needed to rather than on the off chance then we wouldn’t be seeing this,” said the 30-year-old.
It was reported this morning that the Army was on stand-by to assist with fuel deliveries should they be needed.
The government has blamed people needlessly buying fuel for pumps running empty, insisting that the supply of petrol at refineries was fine.
The rush to fill tanks was a response to concerns that the UK’s shortage of HGV drivers could put deliveries in jeopardy.
Leading suppliers BP and Shell have sought to allay public concerns.
In a joint statement they said: “As many cars are now holding more fuel than usual, we expect that demand will return to its normal levels in the coming days, easing pressures on fuel station forecourts.”