Surrey village given more than half a million pounds from Asda after devastating fuel leak

Residents  sitting and standing
-Credit: (Image: Surrey Live)


For once Bramley has had some good news. The village has been dealing with the consequences of a devastating fuel leak for years but now residents have been given some money to bring the area to life.

From potentially explosive ducts and do not drink notices locals have had to put up with a lot of disruption after a substantial amount of petrol leaked into the ground polluting the area. The fuel came from a previously undiscovered fuel leak from the village’s forecourt.

While this is now owned by ASDA, the leak is believed to be a long-running problem, which started before they took over. However, the supermarket is now leading a large clean up effort, pumping and treating more than 500,000 litres of water.

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On top of this ASDA, have agreed to provide £512,500 of support to the community. Money will go towards exciting projects such as new Christmas lights and the refurbishment of the Eastwood Road playground.

Bramley resident Helen Melia told SurreyLive: “ We are pleased that Asda has agreed to provide a fund of approximately half a million pounds for Bramley community projects and organisations. It will certainly help Bramley start to recover from the petrol leak.

“What Bramley needs next is a multi-agency plan to be agreed by all involved parties and approved by the Environment Agency, to clean up the petrol that’s escaped off the petrol station into the subsurface of the village.”

Helen and Gill
Gill and Helen want to see the village compensated -Credit:Surrey Live

With businesses willing customers to come back, money may also go towards marketing the village as well as other long overdue refurbishments and repairs. Local schools as well as the Four Villages Day Centre could also benefit.

Details are still to be worked out by the parish council who have called the money a fantastic result for the village. There are also ongoing discussions over individual household payments, for which ASDA is currently suggesting a £50 Asda voucher for the 621 households impacted by the drinking water restriction. There is also a business support scheme in place.

Do not open on the Bramley ducts
Warnings have been painted on the ducts -Credit:Surrey Live

Local Councillor Jane Austin, leader of the Opposition at Waverley Borough Council said that all residents would see the difference this money could make. She said: "Reaching this deal with Asda has been a huge team effort from across the Bramley community following a very tough couple of years for us all. The £512k community support package will allow for us to make significant improvements across our village and everyone will benefit.

The work doesn't stop here - I will continue fighting for our village to ensure the clean-up of the fuel in the ground continues. Bramley is an amazing community and a fantastic place to live and we are looking forward to the future."

Bramley high-street
A local buissness woman warned the village could loose its high-street -Credit:Surrey Live

The sentiment was shared by the area's MP Jeremy Hunt who said: “The agreed number is a significant amount which to put in context is over 5.5 times the Parish Council precept and 34 times the annual funds raised by the Village fete.

"I am very grateful to Bramley Parish Council, Cllr Jane Austin and all those community groups who have engaged with this process, and of course grateful to Asda for their constructive action and engagement here.

"We have more work to do in Bramley and I will continue to hold Asda and others to account on the clean up, but this is a hugely positive step forward."

James Barge, Senior Director Corporate Affairs and Communications at Asda, said, “Asda has been clear in its commitment to Bramley since we took ownership of the site. Our remediation plan is advancing and we are committed to providing regular updates to the community as we progress. Added to that, our Business Support Scheme and Community Support Scheme will support local businesses and create benefit for the wider community over the long term.”

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