The chairman of Asda has admitted to Surrey villagers there is “no quick fix” for a devastating petrol station leak, amid fears it could take as long as a year to resolve.
Lord Rose promised the supermarket chain was committed to the environmental clean-up in Bramley, near Guildford, where residents were unable to drink tap water for almost six weeks after fuel seeped into the ground from the company’s forecourt.
But the peer also warned that removing all the petrol was “not an easy job”.
He came to address villagers at a meeting on Tuesday after The Telegraph highlighted the dire situation at the end of June.
Frustrated residents – some of whom had reported fumes and smells as far back as 2021 – have been calling on local authorities, utility providers and government agencies to set out a clear plan for tackling the spill, with many regarding the response so far as lacking leadership and transparency.
At the meeting in Bramley, Lord Rose told a packed village hall: “I know there’s a problem here.
“But I want to just say, on behalf of Asda and certainly on behalf of the board and myself, that we are absolutely committed to getting this sorted out.”
He promised that Asda would pay compensation to local businesses that have lost out from recent disruption such as roadworks – the first time the company has offered to do so – and said it would do everything possible to speed up the clean-up process.
But Lord Rose added: “I’m afraid there is no quick fix to this.”
Later he asked residents to vote on whether they wanted the petrol station to reopen next month, with only a few showing support.
“OK, well, we won’t open it,” Lord Rose told them.
Speaking to The Telegraph afterwards, the peer said he understood local frustrations but added: “They are depriving themselves of the ability to buy groceries and petrol, and will have to travel further for those now.
“They have got to decide for themselves. But I hope they will see that we have stepped up to the plate.”
At the end of the meeting, Jeremy Hunt, the Conservative MP and former chancellor whose constituency includes Bramley, secured agreement from Waverley borough council, Asda, Thames Water and Openreach to collaborate on publishing a clean-up plan that people could freely access.
Earlier, he said: “Although there has been some progress, it hasn’t been fast enough. And people are very concerned that we still don’t see clearly how the solution is going to happen.”
The meeting came after months of disruption in Bramley, where one-way restrictions caused massive traffic jams in and out of the village and devastated local businesses.
Some local residents have warned they had seen trade plunge by up to 60pc, with others forced to take out loans from family members and friends just to stay afloat.
The fuel leak originated from a petrol station currently run by Asda, the supermarket chain majority-owned by private equity giant TDR Capital.
However, Asda only took control in May 2023, with previous owners including the Co-op and an independent, family-run business called Ultralink Services Limited.
An investigation by consultants hired by Asda found that a pipe underneath the forecourt had been improperly repaired, leading to the leak later on. It is not known when the patch was made and inquiries are ongoing.
Consultants EPS have now set up a series of boreholes near the petrol station to gradually pump out contaminated ground water for cleaning.
It is not known precisely how much petrol leaked out, but EPS previously put the number conservatively at more than 2,000 litres.
Some 500,000 litres of water had since been extracted and cleaned, they said on Tuesday, with plenty of work still to go.
The main constraint on progress is the relatively small size of a local pumping station, although the company said it was open to considering the use of tankers.
For residents in Bramley, it means the disruption is likely to continue.
Colin Chiverton, of the Environment Agency, said: “I’m not going to stand here and say the remediation is going to be over within months.
“I suspect it’s going to be, more likely, over a year.”
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