A Herne Hill bike shop owner has been brought to tears by the community support after dealing with a foul sewage smell for five months.
From June this year, Bicylenation have been battling a foul stench due to untreated sewage stuck in Thames Water drains, which is continuing to worsen.
Since 2020, Bicyclenation has been serving the local community in Herne Hill doing all aspects of bicycle care, and that same community has supported them through these difficult times.
The support of the local community has even brought shop owner Tamas Polocz to tears, as Makerspace, an open-access community workshop has started a petition for them.
Tamas said: “The local community here is so good. We didn’t know that they like us and they want us to be there.
“I have to say, we were shocked that people are just coming in to say hi. And not just to get jobs done. We are kind of the centre of the cycling community, but also we are really part of the local community.”
Bicyclenation has encouraged customers to use their collect and return service which they’ve offered for years.
Tamas said: “You can book it online, we come to you, collect your bike, do the service, drop the bike back. And we are encouraging people to use this service. But people are so nice that they are using this service.”
When the smell first occurred in the shop, it was random and easily forgettable. Five months on, the smell is a daily occurrence that has caused one staff member to leave, others take time off work, and one staff member to vomit.
Tamas believes the cause of the untreated sewage is because of the lack of rain we’ve experienced this summer which would typically wash it away.
But Storm Boelo, reported as the wettest week in England in the last two years, didn’t provide any improvement.
Thames Water have been investigating the stench and installed equipment early October to measure gases and their concentration.
But the shop, which sits above River Effra sewer, is keen to have answers about a missing vent pipe.
On entering the shop, there was a potent manure-like smell. However, thirty minutes later, there was a new chemical smell that suddenly appeared causing us to evacuate.
With the shop being regularly closed, yesterday being one of those days, Tamas said the team morale is “terrible”.
Shop manager Leo Jeremy added: “Morale is very low. Everyone’s kind of getting to a point where they’re fed up, you know. They’ve been having to deal with it for like months and months now, and we’re kind of getting nowhere with it.”
Going forward, Bicyclenation is calling for a “clear plan” and meaningful action to happen.
Thames Water has been contacted for a comment but hasn’t responded.
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