08-05-2025
Bury sinkhole: Commuters, residents and traders voice frustration
A sinkhole on a major commuter route is preventing people from getting to and from work, impacting local businesses and making local residents feel unsafe, it has been New Road in Prestwich, Bury, has been closed since Tuesday after a hole opened above a cavity estimated to be about 110ft (33m) in road, which is often gridlocked at at peak times, links Prestwich to the M60 and Manchester city resident Malcolm Sidebottom said: "I've never seen anything like this before in 50 years of living in Prestwich."
Mr Sidebottom said everything was "very, very eerily quiet"."The last [sinkhole] I saw like this... the road was closed for many months. "You want the community to go back to normal as soon as possible, the local businesses will be affected."
'It's a joke'
Peter Collins, who owns a business next to the sinkhole, said his regular bus journey to work had been rendered impossible because of the diversions that had been put in said he had been forced to call a friend to pick him up and drive him to work. "Over the last week it's just been a joke," he complained. "We've not been able to do anything, we've not been able to get to and from work."Mr Collins said he was concerned the sinkhole, which residents said had grown massively since it first appeared last week, would expand to the road under his business premises."I don't feel safe as such because of the size of the hole," he explained.
A Bury Council spokesperson said: "We are doing everything we can to resolve this problem as soon as possible."Our initial investigations have shown a sewer pipe to be in disrepair, with multiple cracks and slippages along 22m of its length."We are working with United Utilities to resolve the issue, and the road will remain closed for the next few days while investigations continue."The spokesperson said diversion routes would remain in place until further notice, and advised motorists to avoid the area wherever possible and to allow extra time for their journeys.
Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
