Businesses seek more help after sinkhole closure

Businesses affected by the closure of a main road after a sinkhole opened up last year have asked for further financial help.

Firms in Godstone High Street have requested additional business rate relief after part of the road collapsed on 17 February 2025, leading to the evacuation of several homes.

Repair works are nearing completion, with the road expected to fully reopen this summer, but business owners have said they faced a difficult time and need more support.

After the sinkhole appeared, Tandridge District Council offered council tax and business rate relief to those affected. The council has said it has provided the maximum support it can.

Pub landlord Mark Cullinan told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "If that sinkhole were in the middle of Peckham High Street, would they take a year and a half to do it? If it was there, it would have been done tomorrow."

Cullinan said the collapsed road "kills" business in the area, adding the length of time repairs had taken was "an absolute joke".

Garage owner Shane Fry, at DD Services Ltd, said the first few months were "treacherous", but added: "We've learned to adapt and overcome."

He is now among business owners urging the council to consider phasing in a return to business rates for those who were given relief.

"It's going to take a while to go back to some form of normality," he said.

"I feel like they have a form of responsibility to try and ease that pressure."

East Surrey MP Claire Coutinho has also backed calls for a "tapered cushioning" of business rates.

"Temporary support has been welcome," she said, "but business rates will kick in at the full rate the moment the road reopens."

A council spokesperson said: "We recognise the significant disruption caused by the Godstone Road collapse and the impact this had on local businesses.

"During this period, Tandridge District Council has provided business rates hardship relief for those directly affected. The Council retains only 9% of the total business rates collected as the remaining amount goes to government and Surrey County Council.

"We have provided the maximum support we can from the percentage we retain."

Follow BBC Surrey on Facebook, X, and on Instagram and listen to BBC Radio Surrey on Sounds. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.