Open for business! Owner of Knights Garden Centre in Woldingham, David Knight, with Julie Cahillane (left) and Vicky Dyer.

As the country slowly recovers from the worst floods in living memory, businesses in Whyteleafe, Kenley and Woldingham are counting the cost of the local damage caused by the flooding of the Bourne River. At its height, the flood water, contaminated with sewage, was spilling into commercial premises along the A22, Godstone Road, and the road had to be closed for six weeks, causing traffic chaos. In order to alleviate the flooding in Whyteleafe and protect the water treatment works in Kenley, huge dams were built in Woldingham to hold the water back in temporary lagoons. The combination of flooding and engineering works resulted in the closure of the Woldingham Road in addition to the A22. One of the Woldingham businesses affected by the closure of the Woldingham Road was Knights Garden Centre, that had been gearing up for what should be its busiest time of the year. Owner of Knights Garden Centre, David Knight, said: “We have been on this site for 43 years and we employed 47 people but because of the flood we have had to make two redundances and shorten the working hours for our other staff. We will survive, but we have to build the business back up again.” Mr Knight said that the road signage during the closure has not helped matters. “Our customers can still get to us via Bug Hill in Warlingham but Surrey Highways put a ‘Road Ahead Closed’ sign at the top of Bug Hill, which was misleading. In the end we put up our own signs saying that access is still possible to Knights Garden Centre, which has helped things. We are also doing superb ‘Road Closed’ offers for the customers who have made the effort to get here.” After hearing the concerns of residents and business owners at a public meeting in Woldingham, the leader of Surrey County Council, David Hodge, said: “There is no doubt that the people of Woldingham have been badly affected over the last few weeks and we at Surrey County Council are doing all we can to open the road by Monday 7th April. I would like to thank all the residents and business owners for their patience during this difficult time.” One very positive thing has been the demonstration of community spirit since the River Bourne burst its banks in February. Landlord of the Whyteleafe Tavern, councillor Tom Dempsey, gave accommodation to residents forced out of their homes by the flood and provided a meeting room for Flood Information sessions. The Whyteleafe Flood Appeal, launched by Reverend Tim Goode and councillors Tom Dempsey and Sally Marks has so far received over £15,000 in donations. The money is giving immediate financial assistance to the victims of the flood who are struggling to cope in the aftermath of sewage-contaminated water entering their properties. Speaking at one of the Flood Information sessions held at the Whyteleafe Tavern, Paul Hendy from the National Flood Forum, said: “The fact that the flood in Whyteleafe is sewage is just diabolical. The only good thing is that the community spirit here is so strong. It is really exciting to see the community rising to the challenge. I haven't seen anything like it anywhere else during the floods.” Speaking about the aftermath of the fllood, Sam Gyimah MP said: “The water may be receding, but this is still a very frustrating time for residents and businesses as they wait for the cleanup operation to complete, the allocation of financial support, and for life in our community to get to back to normal. The full reopening of the A22 is another reminder that progress is being made, but the job is far from done. There has been an effective and well-coordinated response from Surrey County Council, Tandridge District Council, the Environment Agency and others helping with the recovery, and I will continue to liaise closely with all involved as we move forward. “The time is now right to look for permanent solutions. For example, Surrey County Council and Croydon Council have put in a strong bid to secure funding to build up permanent reservoirs near Woldingham and Kenley, and these efforts have my full support.” Keen to share some good news, Surrey County Councllor, Sally Marks, said: “Surrey succeeded in getting £5.8m to help support big structures to deal with future flooding. It is the third largest grant in the country. £100,000 is being made available from Surrey Highways to help improve the drainage in Whyteleafe, in particular the area around the BP garage.” Sally said that she has been doing her best to gee up the local community. “In times like this people Paul Hendy of the National Flood Forum with Kim Reygate from the BP Garage in Whyteleafe. have got to do what they can and not rely entirely on the local council, which is doing its best. For the most part people have realised that this has been a huge crisis but we have just got on and done the best we can. It is a lot about self-help and making our local businesses robust for the future.” For the latest flooding information and advice visit www.surreycc.gov.uk

Paul Hendy of the National Flood Forum with Kim Reygate from the BP Garage in Whyteleafe.