Supermarket for humans and wildlife. 

We are following up on our objection to Sainsbury’s bid to take remove a ‘Wildlife Superstore’ in Burpham in Surrey. The wider Burpham community showed their amazing support for the wildlife habitat and hedgehogs that live in the area around the superstore. A special thank you to facebook pages ‘My Burpham’ and ‘Hedgehogs of Burpham and Merrow’ along with the Guildford Dragon News and the wider Community who took the time to write to the council and sign our petitions (see below). It was great team work.  We attracted widespread national media when we objected to the planning application proposed by Sainsburys to add an extension to their Burpham site on already mitigated land. After the media coverage Sainsbury’s contacted us directly to discuss the planing application and after a productive zoom meeting and email exchanges with them the planning application was withdrawn and we have jointly made the following statement.

Sainsbury’s spokesperson said:  “The communities we serve are at the heart of everything we do.  We have listened to the concerns with regards to our proposal and have withdrawn our planning application. We will work in partnership with local groups to redesign our application, so that it doesn’t touch the buffer zone surrounding the ancient woodland and also increases the biodiversity of the area. We look forward to working with the community over the coming months especially with groups such as Save Me Trust and the Woodland Trust, on a revised proposal that brings the best possible environmental benefits alongside supporting local jobs and more convenient ways to shop.”

Following our discussions and a meeting with Sainsbury’s, we are very happy to report that they have withdrawn their application.  From our conversations it’s clear that Sainsbury’s share our goals of sustainability and enhancement of wildlife habitats. We are now confident that solutions can be found for their expansion plans that are sustainable, effective and will support local flora, fauna and humans in a meaningful way.  

Vanishing habitat is the most pressing issue facing wildlife today.  It’s essential we preserve wild areas to ensure our spectacular wildlife continues to flourish.  Sainsbury’s decision is a great step towards ensuring that wild animals already pushed into narrow corridors are able to survive and more importantly  to thrive.  We very much look forward to working with Sainsbury’s over the coming months and will keep you posted

Brian May and Anne Brummer  Save Me Trust