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The Sun
4 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Network of abandoned Victorian tunnels discovered 26ft under giant sinkhole that opened up on ordinary-looking street
A GIANT sink hole has revealed an underground network of Victorian mining tunnels. Engineers working at the site, on Godstone High Street in Surrey, were shocked when they stumbled upon the discovery. 8 8 8 The huge collapse, which rocked the local community in February, has unearthed eerie eight-meter deep abandoned tunnels. Experts who are repairing the street say these sand mining networks may hold the key to what caused the sinkhole. But residents in the area claim they have been "left in the dark" over when construction will be complete, as reported by the BBC. Businesses in the area also continue to be negatively impacted by the major collapse. Local authorities shared their hopes the road would be reopened by December this year. Lloyd Allen, infrastructure manager at Surrey County Council, said: "Currently, we're investigating the Victorian tunnels, plotting them to see the extent of them and where they go. "We'll likely be finished by the early part of December, but there's a lot of reconnecting services and redoing water mains, gas mains and electric cables." Mr Allen added how the tunnels "puts one of the pieces into place" over why the sinkhole unfolded. Although there are still "several scenarios" that have been put forward about the cause. Shane Fry, who runs a garage on the high street, told the BBC the sinkhole has slashed his profits by a third. "They said they would keep us up to date, but this hasn't happened," he said. "We need to know. It will benefit everyone in the area." Meanwhile, Will McLean, owner of a residential windows and doors company claimed the disaster has "reduced footfall to virtually zero". And coffee shop owner Sami Bristow, shared how her income is down about 20% compared to last year. 8 8 8 "It has been hard-hitting especially with inflation and all the other things that small businesses are having to cope with," she added. Matt Furniss, cabinet member for highways at Surrey County Council, said: "Our focus will be on ensuring the road is safe to use, so the exact date will be confirmed once we are fully assured of this." Catherine Sayer, Tandridge District Council leader, added: "Things are moving as fast as they can. "The key thing is to get everything back to normal as quickly as possible." Locals have been allowed back into their homes after a risk assessment deemed it safe to do so. Christine Duncan, 57, who has lived in her home just outside the cordon for over two decades, says she is still in shock at what has happened. She said: "My husband was down the pub and saw a trickle of water. Then the sinkhole just suddenly appeared. "I have lived here for 24 years, and I have never seen anything like this before. I am still in shock. I can't make heads or tails of it. "I think it is to do with the amount of lorries that drive through here. We are only a small village. Is your property at risk from a sinkhole? There are thousands of natural sinkholes, also known as dolines, in the UK, particularly in the upland areas of northern England, according to the British Geological Survey. By and large, these are not actively subsiding, but occasionally new sinkholes form, particularly after heavy rain. Built up areas can be at risk and it is believed sinkholes are becoming more common in the UK, partly due to extreme rainfall, which scientists have linked to climate change. Dr Andrew Farrant of the BGS, says: 'By their very nature, collapse features caused by burst pipes or collapsed infrastructure are mostly likely to occur in built up areas or beneath roads, and could happen in other areas with similar geology and aging infrastructure. 'Many recent sinkholes have been caused by collapses of old sewers or culverts, such as the sinkhole near Merthyr Tydfil last December. 'There have been other recent instances of sinkholes due to flushing out of sands and weak sandstones, for example the sinkhole that closed Storrington High Street last October.' "I am very worried about how long it is going to take to fix the road. My main concern is that there are a lot of vulnerable people around here and there is a care home just down the road." Graham Brookes, 94, has lived in his nearby home for nine years - but says he has been involved in the area for decades. He agreed that the main worry is for older people who will have to walk a long way to get around the cordon. He added: "We realised something was wrong because the water pressure was down. Then we found out what had happened and realised how lucky we were to still have water. "It is not going to be an easy job to fix. It will affect everyone coming into Godstone. "The village will be very badly impacted by this. But we will get through it. It will mainly effect older people because they will have to walk all the way around. "The local businesses will also be hit hard as they can't get vans in. "It has already impacted the amount of people around. I went to the supermarket earlier and the car park was half empty when it is normally packed." Paul Ryan, 53, has lived in his home on the High Street for nine years. He said: "For the first 24 hours it was a major inconvenience. I was quite surprised, but this has been on the cards for a while. "The locals have been worried for a while about the HGVs going through the village. They use this road as a bypass to the M25 and come down at 60mph." A 40-year-old local, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "We were without water for a considerable amount of time. "We thought that water would be delivered to us but instead we had to go to a water station. "Our water finally came back on at about 3am this morning. "It is a very scary situation. The sinkhole is huge so we are quite worried that we are going to be evacuated. "The sinkhole will probably get even bigger which is terrifying. It is just a very upsetting time." 8 8
BBC News
5 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Business 'left in the dark' over sinkhole repairs
Council officials are to be questioned about plans to fix sinkholes that swallowed a large part of a Surrey road, as a local business claimed people were not being given timely public meeting organised by Tandridge District Council and Surrey County Council Highways aims to detail when Godstone High Street will be repaired after sinkholes – one 20 metres in length – appeared in February. It comes as one affected business owner told the BBC he feels "left in the dark" about what is being done to fix the partially collapsed road. "This continues to be a highly complex incident," said Matt Furniss, cabinet member for highways, transport and economic growth at Surrey County Council. He added that "thorough investigations" were needed to understand what caused the collapse and repair it fully and effectively. "We hope to have the road re-opened during December this year, but our focus will be on ensuring the road is safe to use so the exact date will be confirmed once we are fully assured of this," Mr Furniss added. 'Minimise the impact' Shane Fry, who runs the DD Services garage on the high street, told the BBC ahead of the meeting that his business had had to adapt to "stay afloat". He urged authorities to offer a clear timetable about when road repairs will be finished at the meeting."They said they would keep us up to date, but this hasn't happened," Mr Fry said, adding that he felt "left in the dark". "We need to know. It will benefit everyone in the area," he County Council said it was continuing to update local residents and businesses as it progressed through each stage of the process. "We're also looking at how we can minimise the impact on local businesses while the necessary road closures are in place," said Mr Furniss. Councillor Catherine Sayer, leader of Tandridge District Council, said local authorities wanted to get "all the information out there as soon as it is available". She told the BBC: "We obviously know it has been an awful time for people. But, as far as I can see, things are moving as fast as they can."She said she believes the meeting will tell the public what they want to know about how road repairs are progressing and offer a timeline."The key thing is to get everything back to normal as quickly as possible," she said. "Businesses need business as usual."
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Sinkhole roads chaos could crucify us, trader says
The owner of a garage in a village where two large sinkholes appeared has expressed concern over the affect of road closures on businesses. The holes appeared in the centre of Godstone, Surrey, overnight on Monday last week, with the largest hole reaching 65ft (20m) long. Homes have been evacuated and a public meeting on Wednesday heard it could take up to 12 months to repair the road. Garage owner Shane Fry told BBC Radio Surrey disruption over that time "could crucify a business". He said: "Trying to work out logistics of how we stay open has been extremely difficult. "We can deal with anywhere between 15 and 20 cars a day. It's fairly hectic on a normal week." But he added he was hopeful things would improve quickly. "Once we get through the logistics of how our businesses can sustain a normal day I think it'll just become the new norm," he said. "And once everyone gets used to it, businesses will carry on surviving." Tandridge District Council's leader, Catherine Sayer, said she believed Surrey County Council understood from the meeting how important it was to improve access and signage for businesses that were affected. The district council, which is also housing some families in emergency accommodation, said with a timescale in place, long-term plans can now be made. "I know some of the residents have sourced Airbnbs that would match the price the council has to pay for Travelodge accommodation," she said. "It costs us £500 a week to house a family in a Travelodge." She also said there had been a mixed reaction from insurance companies contacted by homeowners. "A couple of them have been absolutely great," she said. "But a couple of them have been absolutely awful and that has added to the confusion. It's made our job much harder." Follow BBC Surrey on Facebook, on X. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. Residents could be out of their homes 'for a year' Godstone sinkhole to be investigated with 3D maps Families return home after sinkhole swallows road Sinkhole has left us homeless, residents say Sinkhole street families 'out of homes for months' Huge sinkhole swallows up more of Surrey street Tandridge District Council Surrey County Council
BBC News
26-02-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Godstone sinkhole road closures could crucify us, trader says
The owner of a garage in a village where two large sinkholes appeared has expressed concern over the affect of road closures on holes appeared in the centre of Godstone, Surrey, overnight on Monday last week, with the largest hole reaching 65ft (20m) have been evacuated and a public meeting on Wednesday heard it could take up to 12 months to repair the owner Shane Fry told BBC Radio Surrey disruption over that time "could crucify a business". He said: "Trying to work out logistics of how we stay open has been extremely difficult. "We can deal with anywhere between 15 and 20 cars a day. It's fairly hectic on a normal week."But he added he was hopeful things would improve quickly."Once we get through the logistics of how our businesses can sustain a normal day I think it'll just become the new norm," he said."And once everyone gets used to it, businesses will carry on surviving." Tandridge District Council's leader, Catherine Sayer, said she believed Surrey County Council understood from the meeting how important it was to improve access and signage for businesses that were district council, which is also housing some families in emergency accommodation, said with a timescale in place, long-term plans can now be made."I know some of the residents have sourced Airbnbs that would match the price the council has to pay for Travelodge accommodation," she said."It costs us £500 a week to house a family in a Travelodge." She also said there had been a mixed reaction from insurance companies contacted by homeowners."A couple of them have been absolutely great," she said. "But a couple of them have been absolutely awful and that has added to the confusion. It's made our job much harder."
