Pub lost £100k due to petrol smell, says landlord

Site owner Asda said work is being carried out to deal with the smell

Residents and businesses in a Surrey village say they are badly affected by the smell of petrol from a former filling station.

Bramley has been impacted by the issue for more than two years, with the local pub landlord claiming to have lost £100,000 in business.

Chancellor and South West Surrey MP Jeremy Hunt described the situation as "a total nightmare".

Supermarket chain Asda said it had been working on a solution since taking over the site in October 2023.

It said it was working with environmental agencies to develop "robust strategies for remediation" for what it describes as a "pre-existing issue".

Asda said: "The site is currently closed while works take place, and we anticipate this to be completed within the next eight weeks.”

Steve Hardstone, landlord of the Jolly Farmer pub, said he had lost £100,000 in accommodation takings.

"We've had to completely close our accommodation business for four months because of the stench in the bedrooms," he said.

"Customers come in, they smell the atmosphere, turn round and walk out.

"People phone and say, 'I'd like to book a table, but do you still have that horrible smell?'"

'Fuel bubbles'

Mr Hunt said the leak had been going on since the autumn of 2021.

He told BBC Radio Surrey: "In that period potentially more than 2,000 litres of fuel have leaked into the ground, getting into the drainage system, out into the stream."

Waverley Borough councillor Jane Austin said: "It's been horrible, in the winter especially. Residents haven't been able to open their windows.

"I was, a year ago, staring at a stream looking at fuel bubbles popping out, and it was very frustrating and upsetting for a long time that we felt we weren't heard."

The owner of the Jolly Farmer pub said at least £100,000 had been lost in bookings because of the smell

A statement from the Environment Agency said: “We continue to investigate the ongoing groundwater pollution incident in Bramley.

"Whilst we progress our investigation, we continue to undertake our regulatory work to support the clean-up of the groundwater pollution."

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