The latest public meeting on the Bramley petrol station fuel leak took place last week and was attended by around 135 residents.
The meeting was to update residents about the clean-up following a historic fuel leak from the Asda Express forecourt in Bramley, Surrey, which led to the loss of drinking water in the area.
The meeting was chaired by Jeremy Hunt MP and the panel consisted of representatives from Asda, EPS Environmental Consultants, Openreach, the Environment Agency (EA) and Waverley BC Recovery Group, with support from local councillors.
Jeremy Hunt MP says: “It’s clear we are making some real progress on clean up but it will still take some time – it will be years not months until the village is free of the petrol contamination. Reassuringly Thames Water’s ongoing testing regime results continue to be clear. Telecoms issues remain and more work is needed to find solutions for end users.”
The EA explained at the meeting how eventual breakdown of remaining pollution will be via ‘natural attenuation’ – ie letting nature take its course.
Asda told Forecourt Trader that the company had reaffirmed to attendees that its focus was now on the health of the high street, the community environment and households impacted by works.
The week before this latest meeting, Asda vouchers were delivered to 651 households in Bramley.
An Asda spokesperson says: “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.”
Meanwhile, Bramley Parish Council is currently setting up a process to assess projects to use the £512,500 Community Fund, which was donated by Asda.
Some 40 claims have been received for business compensation and so far four payouts have been made.
