The closest service station to the Omokoroa community has closed its doors for the last time amid fears for the safety of staff and customers.

Z Energy closed its site on State Highway 2 on Sunday in the interests of the safety of staff and the community – particularly after a ram-raid on the station earlier this year.

The now vacant Z Omokoroa service station.

The company's corporate communications spokesperson Christine Langdon says the difficult decision was made after reviewing security on the incident where a safe containing cash and cigarettes was stolen.

The review put the site security level at ‘high risk' and concluded that upgrading security inside the store and on the forecourt would have been too expensive.

'The cost would have been significant and the investment didn't stack up alongside the declining turnover at the site,” says Christine.

In September the service station was robbed after thieves used a stolen 4x4 to ram their way through the wall.

Tauranga Police believe at least two men were involved in the ram-raid, carried out at around 10.30pm on September 28.

Thecrime may be linked to a similar burglary at Omokoroa bowling club on Monday night, where another safe was stolen by two offenders in an unidentified vehicle.

Christine says Z Energy will continue paying the lease to the landlord until it expires in August, and all four staff would be transferring to jobs at other Z retailer sites in Tauranga.

'Z wants to ensure that staff have a safe place to work, customers have a safe place to purchase fuel and that the community has a safe neighbourhood,” she adds.

'It couldn't guarantee that without investing in the site and the investment didn't stack up financially.”

Z customers will now have to travel an extra 11km to the Z service station in Bethlehem or Gull in Whakamarama.

Christine says branding will be removed and tanks emptied and isolated before Christmas, with work to redevelop the site expected to start in February. This work will include ground checks and any soil remediation that may be required.

Any decisions about future development of the site will pass over to the site owner.