New petrol station set to open in Kingsclere today (Thurs)

John Mason, of Peregrine Retail Ltd, which is leasing the site from owners, Forelle Estates, said the Shell petrol station and Budgens convenience shop were due to open off the A339, near Kingsclere.
The shop will house an off licence, an in-store bakery and Costa coffee shop, with hot food on sale, and it is also set to sell National Lottery tickets.
However, the neighbouring Nelson’s Diner, an American-style restaurant, has again raised issues about construction workers’ vehicles blocking customers’ access to the diner.
Shelly Francis, the owner of Nelson’s Diner, said work in the last few weeks had caused huge upheaval for the business.
Last Thursday, she said: “Construction staff completely blocked the entrance to our site for up to three hours, causing us to lose all our trade.
“We are small, family-run business that has been here for nearly 10 years and this has caused a huge strain on our business.
“We feel that we have been let down by the team in charge who have had made little to no effort in making this period of upheaval any smoother for us.”
Mrs Francis also alleged that a freezer and vehicle had been damaged during the construction work, that promised tarmacing of the diner’s car park had not taken place and estimated that the diner had lost £5,000 per month since work started in October.
Mr Mason said tarmacing work carried out at the site last week was to repair a pothole-riddled access, with site access now fully open and all work completed, except for landscaping.
Neighbouring tenants, he continued, had received a note and visit from contractors informing them of the impending tarmacing.
Mr Mason pointed out there were several other businesses on the site, including an MOT garage, car servicing and van sales, none of whom had complained:
He said: “The MOT and car servicing businesses have been far more affected than the diner, but have understood and haven’t raised any issues.
“Today we are open for trade and it will be good for the diner and other businesses at the site.
“It has not been good for them as the site has been closed for three years.
“It was a fairly tight site and big building project. You can’t develop it without a bit of mess, but we have tried our best to keep it to a minimum.”
The opening was set to bring 20 jobs to the area, including full and part-time roles to be recruited locally.