General News
26 July, 2026
Major highway service centre planned for Great Western
A major highway service centre proposed for Great Western is expected to create about 20 local jobs and breathe new life into a long-vacant Main Street site, with plans for a service station, convenience store, caravan facilities and electric vehicle charging. Endeavour Energy Fuels owner Jeff Griffiths has confirmed his family-owned company is behind the proposal for 49–51 Main Street, first revealed by The Stawell Times-News in May.
Endeavour purchased the former Great Western Roadhouse site eight years ago and has now lodged plans for a substantial roadside facility serving both the local community and passing motorists.
The planning application is currently subject to a Request for Further Information from Northern Grampians Shire Council.
“The Western Highway is really badly serviced once you leave Melbourne,” Mr Griffiths said.
“When you look at the traffic, service facilities are actually very poorly represented.”
Plans include a convenience store with food service, indoor seating for about 18 people, upgraded public amenities, more than 40 car parks and dedicated caravan parking.
The company plans to install infrastructure for up to four electric vehicle chargers, although Mr Griffiths said they might not become operational immediately if there was insufficient electrical capacity at the site.
Mr Griffiths said the development was intended to provide a high-quality stopping point rather than operate as a major truck stop.
He said Great Western’s wineries, tourism attractions, hotel and emerging accommodation developments made the township an attractive location for the investment.
“We actually see a real prospect of Great Western being a location that people find a preference to go to rather than some of the larger towns,” he said.
Mr Griffiths said he first identified the site while travelling through Great Western during the development of Endeavour’s fuel operations in Horsham.
“We drove past that block of land, and it hit me like a rock,” he said.
“I said, ‘Pull over.’ We did a U-turn, got out of the car and walked it.
“There was such a strong feeling towards that site.”
The company quickly secured the property after discovering it had previously operated as a Golden Fleece roadhouse.
The land has remained largely vacant since the Great Western Roadhouse was destroyed by fire in July 1980. The blaze, reported on the front page of the Stawell Times-News, gutted the building, destroyed a nearby caravan and damaged the petrol bowsers.
Mr Griffiths said Great Western had always been central to the company’s plans, but the project was deliberately delayed while Endeavour established the wholesale fuel network needed to support it.
The company established bulk fuel operations at Balmoral and Horsham and is now constructing a new depot at Donald.
“Great Western was the biggest one of that project, so it needed to be the last thing that I did in that area,” he said.
“Now is the time to take on the bigger project of Great Western.”
If approved, the development would create about 20 jobs across food preparation, customer service, housekeeping, site operations and management.
Mr Griffiths said the company would recruit locally and provide food-service training, creating opportunities for younger people seeking part-time employment.
“We’re going to employ 20 people locally, and that’s a big number in a town like that,” he said.
Mr Griffiths said the Request for Further Information had prompted additional work on landscaping, lighting and traffic management, including greater use of local plant species.
“We’ve done seven plans as part of this application, all done by professional contractors,” he said.
Mr Griffiths said Endeavour welcomed community feedback and was happy for the plans to become publicly available through the planning process.
“We’re a family business, and we only do country areas,” he said.
“We learnt long ago the only way that we ever get successful in country areas is to work with the people.”
Mr Griffiths said the project was intended to encourage travellers to spend time in Great Western rather than simply drive through.
“We see it as something that will enhance what the area has and encourage people to come, have a look around and stay.”
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