Jerry..! I really hope that's not true...! I happen to know a few people who work for the company I suspect you are thinking of... I would be very disappointed if this were the case... is this the opinion of only one or two, or does this 'theory' represent the opinion of many locals?? I can tell you, they would not be very happy either - everyone starts somewhere and as you say, GA cannot just be forgotten and pushed aside in these rural places...
PAF, so BP are definitely getting rid of the bowser? (i.e. buying it is not an option??) Any way you could give them a $ value on the amount they'd get from all you locals using the old setup if it were to remain...? Maybe if you could convince them it's worth their while they might reconsider... sadly a demonstration of what usually goes on in small town vs big company...