Petition to re-open the shop part of the closed Nellfield petrol station
as a Spar shop or other shop
From: residents of Braidwood and Carluke
To: Spar UK and other businesses

Nellfield garage (on A73 Lanark Road, Braidwood, ML8 5PG) contained the only remaining shop in Braidwood in South Lanarkshire. Partly due to competition from Tesco the petrol station and the shop in it closed at the end of February.

Since its closure the nearest shops are in Carluke, Lanark or Crossford. For many pensioners and people who don't have their own cars , this involves long waits for buses to and from these places. Some people with disabilities also rely on the shop. There are no buses after 7pm on Lanark Road, and only two buses a day on Braidwood Road.

Stuart Gray and the other people who run the garage also provided valuable help to pensioners by delivering newspapers along with milk and other essentials.

People who do own cars also found the garage a convenient and friendly place to shop.

The loss of the garage is sad. The loss of the last shop in the village is worse.

Please consider buying or renting the shop in the garage as a Spar store or other village shop. There are hundreds of people living in Braidwood plus many more travelling on the busy A73 Lanark road who would continue to use it.

Similarly for the other closed village shop at 83 Braidwood Road, ML8 5NU.

Also please give consider keeping on or re-hiring the people who worked there.

Stuart Gray, who, with his family, owns the garage, would prefer to sell or rent to someone who will continue a shop on the premises for the benefit of the community.

Bill Murray, who owns the closed village shop on Braidwood Road would similarly like to see the shop on Braidwood Road re-opened.

There is also a petition to South Lanarkshire council asking them to reduce business rates on any shops opening at Nellfield.

Over 1,000 signatures are on each petition, the majority on paper, some on the online versions of them. Two letters from one elderly and one disabled resident of Braidwood are also enclosed, along with comments on the online version of the petition, which include some from people who work with the elderly in Braidwood.

You can read the comments online on the links from www.duncanmcfarlane.org/braidwoodspar

Both Aileen Campbell MSP and Jim Hood MP, whose constituencies Braidwood is in, back keeping some kind of shop open in Braidwood.

The garage was losing money on petrol, but a shop selling food and newspapers there could be viable. The Garage’s business rates will of course be reduced if it’s no longer operating as a petrol station.

If a shop selling a wider range of food than the petrol station shop did was to be set up in it it could increase sales significantly. Part of the petrol station area could be converted into an expanded car wash alongside the shop to generate revenue, or sold off to reduce business rates.

Contact details for the petition organisers and the owners of the two properties are below.

Yours sincerely,
Braidwood and Carluke residents

Petition organiser contact details
Duncan M McFarlane
Beanshields
Braidwood
Carluke
ML8 5PG
Phone 01555 771316
Mobile 07774121818
Email calgacus86@hotmail.com

Property owner contact details:
Stuart Gray
88 Lanark Road
Braidwood
ML8 5PG
(former manager of Nellfield garage and one of the owners of the garage)

Bill Murray
100 Braidwood Road
Braidwood
ML8 5NU
(owner and former manager of Braidwood Road shop and post office at 83 Braidwood Road ML8 5NU)