I CONTINUE to be baffled by one basic economic question as we all fight to recover from recession: why are there so few petrol stations in High Wycombe?

I pondered this again on Friday as I nipped in to Morrisons to buy fuel. Well, I tried to nip, but there was as usual a queue out into the road, and I had to wait for other motorists to fill up before I eventually had my turn.

The extraordinary thing was that this was 10am during the school holidays when no one should have been about. But that garage, at whatever time I go there, has a constant flow of never-ending customers.

The same could be said about the Shell station at Loudwater. Drivers often have to queue for petrol out on the busy A40 because the pumps are so choc-a-bloc with customers.

This is no fault, by the way, of Morrisons or Shell – but a stunning indictment of the lack of fuel stations. There used to be at least three more on the London Road alone, but they have all disappeared. My question is: why?

Entrepreneurs are struggling to find businesses which can make money, and yet petrol stations are always heaving with custom. I bet you could raise prices to £5 per litre and they would still flock to your garage.

There is clearly demand, so why isn’t there a supply here? Especially when it all seems so lucrative.

Obviously, I’m missing some kind of key point and I would be grateful if someone could write in to explain what this is. Alternatively, if I do happen to have a point, does anyone out there want to go into business selling petrol in High Wycombe?