Independent retailers Ken and Rekha Popat have unveiled their newly-refurbished forecourt on the A13 in Barking, the main route from Essex and the Dartford Crossing into East London.



Offically opened last Friday by Margaret Hodge MP, Barking Service Station is the first forecourt within the M25 to feature Texaco’s new imagery, and the first on the A13 to sell Autogas LPG.

Ken and Rekha invested £700,000 in the state-of-the-art revamp and are expecting the Olympics to bring a huge boost in trade. “We are in a prime location for the Olympic Games and expect 1,000 coaches to come on this road from Europe so it was important to have the vision and redevelop now,” said Ken.

The forecourt is one of the first to adopt Gilbarco pumps with automatic vapour recovery monitoring and an LPG Combi dispenser. It also has a higher canopy and HGV pumps dispensing fuel twice as fast as those for cars.

The Spar-branded shop has a full convenience range, along with a walk-in wine chiller and self-serve smoothie maker.