campaigners battling to get vital repairs to fix the “desperate” state of the access road to Grayshott Surgery, have stepped up their calls for Waverley Borough Council and Surrey County Council to provide funding.

Boundary Road Residents’ Association (BRRA) paid for temporary repairs to the badly-potholed section of Boundary Road – an unadopted bridleway – in December to enable disabled patients and ambulances forced to park at the Village Hall, to drive to Grayshott Surgery.

It was a badly-need ‘quick fix’, during BRRA’s campaign to raise the £80,000 needed to provide a long-term solution to the problem.

All parties agree it would be unfair to expect BRRA, which is responsible for the state of the bridleway, which lies across the border in Hampshire, to foot the steep cost of providing a long term solution to improve the 75ft stretch from Headley Road, heavily used as an access to a surgery with 12,000 patients which sets just over the county boundary in Surrey.

Grayshott ward member Ferris Cowper successfully applied for a £25,000 grant from East Hampshire District Council, in addition to £10,000 he secured from Hampshire County Council.

Together with £15,000 from the GP practice, £8,000 from BRRA and £1,000 each from Grayshott Parish Council and Haslemere Town Council, it brings the total raised so far to £60,000.

Swelling the total Grayshott Pottery donated £1,000 towards the fund.

Company trustee Phil Bates told The Herald: “We are the first business to support the fund and hope it will encourage other companies and individuals to chip in as well, but I am very disappointed there has been no funding from Waverley or Surrey.”

Calling for more support from Surrey, Mrs Tarento said: “Apart from Haslemere Town Council’s very generous offer, neither South West Surrey MP Jeremy Hunt, nor any department or authority in Surrey has been prepared to offer any financial assistance whatsoever.

“This is despite the fact that both St Edmund’s School, in Boundary Road, and the surgery, are both in Surrey and pay taxes to Surrey – and half of the 12,000 patients come from Surrey, and again pay taxes to Surrey.

“We have now been rejected three times, which is why we will be asking all those who use the surgery plus any resident of Grayshott or indeed anyone at all, to help us come up with the additional money.”

Grayshott resident Jem Barnes, who founded Boundary Road Action Group to raise greater awareness, has pledged to try and raise the £20,000 still needed by launching a crowd funding website later this month.

Grayshott Portraits by Pear Tree photographers Connan and Lisa McStay, who worked on Hollywood hit film The King’s Speech, have donated their services to shoot a promotional video to boost the crowd funding appeal, with the help of villagers, on June 16 and 17.

Mr Cowper said: “Because Boundary Road is a private, unadopted road, there is no duty on any local council to maintain it as a highway.

He said the volume of patients arriving at the surgery meant the bridleway was having to cope with traffic amounts befitting a proper highway.

The Tory leader of East Hampshire District Council added: “Long-lasting repairs are very expensive and so it’s hard to see how the money can be raised without local council assistance. Therein lies the difficulty.

“As I promised last year, among other donors, several councils have been willing to contribute voluntarily to the cost and thereby offer assistance to the residents who have the legal duty but probably not the large cash resources required.

“I’m very pleased EHDC’s contribution has been supported by Hampshire County Council, Grayshott Parish Council and Haslemere Town Council. Given the location of the Surgery in Surrey, I remain hopeful they will be joined by Waverley Borough Council and Surrey County Council, to assist with the cost.

“The leadership shown by BRRA is to be commended and I wish them the very best in project managing the works, which will offer a huge benefit to all surgery users and especially those requiring disabled access.”