Who’s Surrey Now?!

Avan selling fish and chips to people deep in the Surrey Hills has been told it can no longer serve food to the remote community says Surrey Live. Mobile caterer Fishers Foods has been informed by Mole Valley District Council it cannot operate its weekly Friday service out of a car park on the top of Box Hill.

The owner claims he has been told the car park is owned by the council and that licensed vehicles for trading can no longer drive up Box Hill Road to reach the summit. The council said it took the action following complaints of “nuisance behaviour” by another trader and argue it acted “in the best interest of the local community”.

Neil Ansell, the owner of Fisher Foods, said he has been in dispute with the local authority for three months. Having served fish and chips on Box Hill for more than two decades he says unless the council change its mind he can no longer set up on a Friday afternoon.

“I’ve been officially warned that I will be trading illegally,” he said. “The majority of people up there [Box Hill] wouldn’t have cars. When you have a village area with very little public transport, shockingly bad service and nothing else up there it’s the small things we offer for community service.

“I wish to say from Fishers Food to thank the residents of Box Hill for everything they’ve done for me for twenty years of loyal business. It’s just been wiped out overnight.”

Fish and chip fans were also left concerned, including June Edmonds, who lives on Box Hill and orders from the van every Friday. As well as the food she said the “popular” service also acted as a way for the local community to get together every week.

“Now suddenly they’ve decided he’s not allowed to stop there anymore,” she added. “It’s just so upsetting for so many people, there are so many elderly people up here and it’s their treat every week.

“To a lot of people [they say] ‘well it’s only fish and chips’ but to so many people it’s a treat every week they can actually go out to get. They can’t be going down to the fish and chip shop in Dorking. We can’t understand the reasoning why.” Have