Godstone sinkhole: Evacuated families set to return home

Most residents evacuated after a massive sinkhole swallowed parts of a street are expected to return home this weekend, Surrey County Council has said.

Council infrastructure team manager Lloyd Allen said their return is "subject to a couple of issues", including whether the water supply is safe to use.

Thirty homes were evacuated when the sinkhole appeared in the High Street of the Surrey town on February 17.

A second hole appeared in the front garden of a nearby property the following afternoon.

Six households were allowed to return after a few days but 24 homes were judged unsafe.

Tandridge District Council (TDC) said on Wednesday it is "confident it is now safe for all households, except four, to return home from this weekend".

"Quite a lot of anomalies" in the area have been discovered but the exact cause of the sinkhole has not been identified, Mr Allen said in a video statement.

Wearing a hard hat and hi-vis jacket while standing in front of the repair works, Mr Allen said: "This week we're hoping to have some really good news for the residents.

"We're going to a meeting later on to advise them that we're expecting them to return this weekend.

"It's subject to a couple of issues that we're still investigating at the moment, and we're waiting for SES Water to tell us that the water quality is up to the right standards so that they can use water when they return."

Workers have spent the past few weeks trying to establish the cause of the collapse.

Mr Allen said: "The GPR survey (ground penetrating radar) that we've carried out has shown quite a lot of anomalies in the area.

"We're calling them anomalies at the moment because until we've investigated further we don't actually know what they are."

They could be a series of tunnels under the road, a deep sewer, or soakaways from properties, he said, adding: "We've really got to do further investigation before we pin down the reason for those."

During the next few weeks the council will continue to investigate if there is a tunnel network.

Specialist "geotechnical engineers" have been hired to analyse the results so far and to plot a series of boreholes for further examinations.

If tunnels or "voids" are found, cameras can be put down and further tests carried out but that work "is going to take several months longer", Mr Allen said.

All businesses are open as usual except for one that was directly impacted by the collapse, the council said.

Residents were told the sinkhole could take a year to fix in a public meeting last month.

The gathering, held nine days after the collapse, heard how residents had been struggling, with one, Diego Silva, 33, saying the disruption had made his young daughter cling to her parents more.

He said: "We noticed that since we had to leave in the middle of the night, that affects the baby really badly, she has been really clingy, wants mummy and daddy all the time - she has been crying out in the middle of the night because she doesn't know where she is."

Mr Allen told that meeting the council had to be "really sure" that there is no danger before allowing people back into their homes.

Councillor Catherine Sayer, leader of TDC, said in a statement on Wednesday: "It is great news that almost all households are now able to return home.

"This has been a difficult and stressful time for them and our priority has been to ensure they receive the support they need.

"We thank them for their patience and co-operation, as we continue work to resolve the situation.

She added: "And very importantly, just a reminder that Godstone is very much open for business so please do visit and support the businesses here."

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