'Our Surrey village is back open for business': Meet the people fighting to revive the high street after crisis

Gill and Helen smile at camera
-Credit: (Image: Surrey Live)


“Bramley is back in business”, that is the message residents Gill and Helen are keen to get across. For years the village of Bramley has dealt with the consequences of a large fuel leak that has created a stink and plenty of traffic. While cleaning up could take years, business leaders are clear the high-street cannot wait that long.

Instead, owners of shops, cafes and pubs have joined together to keep the doors open. Gill Longdon, Bramley Golf Course, told SurreyLive: “We set up the Bramley Business network probably about six weeks ago. There was no organisation for businesses in Bramley, we haven’t got a chamber of commerce. We have over 40 businesses now and lobby, as a group, on behalf of the businesses for compensation but also the remedial action needed to get the village properly back on its feet. So the businesses are sustainable and have a future, and also to stop businesses closing.”

Gill and Helen are concerned about continued road works, that are needed to rectify the fuel leak, mean the village has gained a reputation. On top of this, the petrol in the ground has led to weeks of undrinkable tap water as well as Openreach ducts becoming inaccessible due to risks of explosions.

Gill is worried that despite roadworks easing and the taps turning back on, customers will stay away. She said: “The thing people forget is the disturbances didn't begin when we couldn't drink the water. It was months and years after roadworks were going on. What we are worried about is that customers have even found other arrangements, other places to go for a massage, a different butcher to go to. If Bramley gets a reputation from traffic jams that's very bad.”

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Outside of the Bramley Apple
Bramley's Apple has closed party blaming road works -Credit:Surrey Live

This has already taken a toll. The village's greengrocers has already closed its doors, in part citing the disruption that has come from efforts to clear up the fuel. There is a letter to the community still posted on the door of the Bramley Apple which reads: “The cost of living crisis seemed to have hit us last September and business died down quite a bit… We then had a fair bit of time in January and February of road works; 3 weeks solid and several more weeks of what felt like every other day. Every day there are roadworks that cost me a fair bit of money in terms of lost trade.”

The problems stem from a large fuel leak from the ASDA forecourt. While the start of the leak is believed to have occurred before ASDA took ownership, the company is now leading efforts to clean up the mess through their environmental consultants EPS.

First on Gill's to-do list is encouraging everyone to shop local. She told SurreyLive: “We've got a fantastic selection of independent shops. You can virtually live your whole life shopping here. You know, the butcher, get your nails done and you can get your hair done, you can have a massage, you can buy an Indian meal, a Chinese meal. You can go to a library, we’ve got a fantastic primary school. A lovely golf course. I've only lived in Bramley for five years but I've never felt so attached to a place before all this.”

It's not just shoppers that pass through Bramley. Its prime location on prominent cycling routes means its cafes can make for a tempting pitstop. Helen said: “It's got great links. I mean you've got the downs link that runs through Bramley, You can cycle to the coast, you can get to Shoreham in five hours with a couple of sandwich breaks. We're in an area of outstanding, natural beauty. The walks are fantastic.”

Unlike some other Surrey high-streets Bramley is full of independents, with very few chains. While this gives it a unique charm it also means the business owners have had to rely on each other for support, coming together to discuss how to bring their customers back.

ASDA petrol station
Bramley petrol station has since re-opened after lots remedial work -Credit:Surrey Live

They have had a few ideas. Gill said: “Having some artisan markets, we need to do social media campaigns, we need to develop a website. We've got no funding from anywhere. We want to get car stickers that say shop local, shop in Bramley. We are planning a history walk to bring more tourists in, we want better signage, we want new welcome signs.

“We need to promote what a lovely place it is. We've got so many independent traders, we haven't got many chains. Some of them have been here for 50 years. It is a very attractive place to come, but we've got to look after these businesses and see it as an urgent requirement, not something that can be dripped out in the bureaucracy of big corporations. They need urgent help now.”

Gill and Helen hope that some of the money for this can come from a compensation scheme organised by ASDA, but businesses are also hoping for business rates relief and anything else that can be done to support them.

However in terms of getting support and answers to their questions both Gill and Helen agreed “It’s like fighting a battle.”

Speaking on compensation for Businesses, an Asda spokesperson: “We are delighted that the Business Support Scheme we set out is now up and running, with the support of Sedgwick, and accepting applications. That is a significant and welcome step forward.”

As well as encouraging customers, Gill and Helen have also looked into how they can make the high- street itself more welcoming. Currently work by Openreach means that a large section of pavement is cordoned as you approach the village from Guildford. Gill is concerned this will put off customers and hopes that the whole site can be jazzed up.

Construction work on pavement
The Openreach works as you come into town -Credit:Surrey Live

Also while Bramley has relatively few empty shops, Helen did wonder if they could temporarily fill any empty locations, with something like a vintage clothes shop. According to the two, something similar has been popular at the Bramley fete in years gone by.

Ultimately, Gill and Helen just want everyone to know the village is back in business. When asked why they should choose Bramley Gill said: “We've got free parking. You can park your car and pop to the supermarket or get your nails done and that's a big boon. We've got the Pelican Crossing so you can cross the road safely. And to support us, support your local business. If you want your local independent stores to survive, please come and shop with us. We're ready to serve you.”

A Waverley Borough Council Spokesperson said: “We are aware the current situation is extremely frustrating for business owners in Bramley as repeated roadworks and road closures have had a huge impact on much of the High Street and some businesses are also struggling to operate without telecommunications.

“Waverley Borough Council does not have a huge amount of resource we can allocate to supporting businesses in such a scenario, our role is to work with other organisations to help facilitate recovery, and to encourage partners to support the business community. The council’s Economic Development service chairs a business and recovery working group, and as part of this work we have supported local businesses in forming a Bramley Business Network (BBN), with whom we communicate regularly to discuss what help and support we can offer.

“We have been working with the BBN to compile a business support recovery plan, which we have submitted to ASDA with a request for funding and are await a response. We have also introduced the BBN to the Surrey Chamber of Commerce and Cranleigh Chamber, plus made an offer of support from the council's business's support service provided by IncuHive.

“In the meantime, we’ve been working with the BBN on low cost activities such as designing a map of businesses within the village which we can promote and encouraging businesses to register on the Business Waverley business directory. We’ll also be promoting Bramley businesses by producing an newsletter, which will be sent to our database in the borough.

“We have approached the Valuation Office to see if we could make a collective claim for a Business Rates reduction for affected businesses, and have been informed that businesses must apply directly on an individual basis. However, we are happy to support any applications by providing supporting evidence wherever we can.

“We have been working with colleagues at Surrey County Council to improve signage to parking and the Downs Link to try to mitigate the traffic issues as well as better parking enforcement to encourage greater turnover to support local businesses.

“We are also aware of the increasing impact of the telecoms issue on businesses and are doing everything we can to work with Openreach and Asda to try to address this. Current levels of hydrocarbons within the inspection pits remain too high for Openreach employees to work in them, but we are trying to explore alternative solutions to resolve the problem.”

An Openreach spokesperson said,We understand the ongoing impact this situation is having on residents and businesses in Bramley. We’re equally frustrated by it, but we’re working closely with all the relevant authorities and organisations involved to resolve it as quickly and as safely as possible.

"Whilst our underground network isn’t yet safe for our engineers to access, we have reduced the risk to residents or passersby using a vapour extraction unit. We’re regularly updating our dedicated webpage and will continue to update our people, partners and customers as work progresses.

"If you experience a problem with your phone or broadband service, please report it to your provider (the organisation you pay your bill to) and we will be informed. In the meantime, we’re sorry for any inconvenience this is causing.”

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