Oldham petrol station awarded for supporting community

Lees Village Service Station on St John Street is considered by residents to be much more than your average petrol station.

The quirky family-run garage sells fresh produce and groceries from The Veg Lord, as well as plants and flowers from Booths Garden Centre and all the usual service station goods.

However, what makes the store special is how the team often go above and beyond to support their local community.

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The team supports a charity or community group every year, having helped a "special little girl" in America, called Harper, for her cancer treatment last year and announced it would be supporting a local project, Our Community Wardrobe Oldham, for 2024.

Sue and her husband, Stuart, at the ceremony (Image: Lees Village Service Station)

The initiative has seen the station kitted out with donated pre-loved school uniforms to support struggling families and children in the borough.

In October last year, the garage also had a taste of the limelight when Sky TV crews filmed for its series, Brassic, at the station.

Service station owner, Sue Collinge, has worked at the shop the whole time it's been open as her late father, Frank Pullen, built and opened the garage.

In August this year, Lees Village Service Station completed a huge makeover, with new pumps, new grids and "lots of work" inside the shop.

Sue said at the time: "We are so lucky to have the most amazing customers and fantastic community that it is our pleasure to serve and we want to push the garage to the next level.

"We will still be putting the fuel in for you if you want it but the time is right to update our little garage."

The station and Sue with Michelle Keegan during Brassic filming last year (Image: Google Maps/Lees Village Service Station)

Once the revamp had been completed, the garage treated their first customer on the new pumps to free fuel.

Reflecting on the makeover, Sue wrote it was a "long month of hard work" and came on the 31st anniversary of when Frank made his "big commitment to the village of Lees" by launching the garage.

Sue added: "I hope we have shown our [commitment] with the work we have had done.

"In continuing Frank's legacy, we hope to get here for another 30+ years and continue what he started."

Then, in recognition of the garage's community spirit, the business was announced as a finalist in the Oldham Business Awards which they said was a "huge honour" just to get through.

The Oldham Business Awards (OBA), held on Friday, September 13, saw dozens attend a glitzy gala dinner at Queen Elizabeth Hall, to celebrate some of the borough's most impactful businesses.

The awards celebrate business excellence amongst companies located in Oldham, whether for wealth creation, innovation, inspirational leadership or good practice in people management, skills development or environmental issues.

Each award is judged against criteria per each one of the 11 award categories.

The garage has had a makeover recently (Image: Lees Village Service Station)

It was then revealed that Lees Village Service Station bagged the 'community engagement' award.

Reacting to their new accolade, Sue simply said: "I can't believe it".

Speaking to The Oldham Times, she added: "We weren't expecting to win at all, we were hopeful as the guys work so very hard looking after our customers and so we were over the moon when our names were read out.

"It feels like confirmation that we are doing the right thing just how Frank, my dad, did when he started and how we are carrying on his legacy."

Hundreds of people across Oldham said the award was "well deserved", as one loyal customer wrote: "So well deserved. My dad would use no other station than Frank's back in the day.

"You've done amazing keeping his legacy alive."

Another customer, Pam Taylor, added: "We can believe it! Many congratulations to you all, well deserved."

A third wrote: "Always willing to help with a smile. Well deserved."

Got a story? Email me Olivia.bridge@newsquest.co.uk