Rural Scottish retailers have sought clarification on vapour recovery legislation following talk of proposed changes that will excuse smaller sites from installing expensive equipment.

Donald MacFadyen, area manager at Scottish Fuels, which has 80 sites – many of them rural – said there was much confusion in the market with Trading Standards Officers in Scotland insisting that small sites still had to install vapour recovery Stage 1B equipment by the end of the year.

“We read in Forecourt Trader last December that sites selling less than 500,000 litres a year would be exempt from the legislation,” said MacFadyen. “But many retailers are being advised to go ahead and install the equipment – costing upwards of £2,000 – which they may not need in the end. Once they have the equipment installed, it then has to be inspected on an annual basis – costing £182 a year.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Executive said retailers were being advised to defer installation of Stage 1B equipment until the outcome of a consultation meeting “due sometime before summer” between the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Scottish Executive, and the Welsh and Irish Assemblies.