More than 20 service stations have closed down across Canberra in recent years, according to documents released by the Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate.

Directorate documents showed a total of 55 active service stations across the ACT, representing no change from 2013 figures.

NRMA regional director Alan Evans said the halted decrease in operators was positive, but the capital needed to boost its number of independent outlets.

Mr Evans said without increased competition, petrol prices in Canberra would remain higher than those in other capitals.

“All our research shows that where there's active independence, the price of petrol is lower,” he said.

“You've got to have independents across a good spread so it provides competition.”

The ACT's latest weekly average price of unleaded petrol recorded by the Australian Institute of Petroleum was 158.2 cents per litre, almost 7 cents more than the Sydney average.

Mr Evans said it was incumbent on the ACT Government to provide support for independent service stations through incentives similar to those implemented for smaller supermarkets.

“The ACT Government certainly offered sites to supermarkets,” he said.

“I think it's got to be the same with servos.”

Deputy Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the government would be releasing land for new petrol stations, particularly in the Weston Creek/Molonglo area, but would not be creating a specific competition policy on the issue.

"The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is the Government body responsible for promoting competition and fair trade in petrol markets to benefit consumers, businesses, and the community," Mr Barr said.

MLA Chris Bourke said residents in his Belconnen electorate had welcomed development on the former sites, such as housing in Holt and Page.

“These are sites where it is possible to do more intensive development within those core areas around shopping centres,” he said.

“It's certainly one of the things that people have been asking me about at street stalls and door knocking, what's happening at the old sites. They often see them vacant for a long time.”

The Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate recorded a total of 15 disused or former petrol sites throughout the ACT in various stages of lease variation, remediation or development proposal processes.

A Directorate spokeswoman said four of the sites had completed remediation by the end of 2013, allowing the commencement of construction at sites such as Duffy and the lodging of a development application at Garran.

She said changes were also underway at Chapman and Oaks Estate, which had been given approval to be redeveloped.