People evacuated after sinkhole feel ‘let down’ by lack of support from council
People evacuated from 30 properties near the sinkhole in the village of Godstone say they still do not know when they will be able to return.
Businesses and evacuated residents near two sinkholes that appeared in Surrey have described feeling “let down” by the council at a lack of information and support.
A sinkhole appeared in the small village of Godstone on Monday night with a 100-metre cordon put in place and local roads closed.
By Wednesday, the residents evacuated from 30 properties still did not know when they would be able to return to their homes.
The leader of Tandridge District Council said she was “very sorry” if anyone felt let down, adding the council had been “doing their best” to keep residents informed.
Ifesi Anyamene, 50, who owns a pharmacy in Godstone High Street near the edge of the cordoned-off roads, said that “nobody” from the council had been in touch with her about the ongoing situation.
She said: “It was scary at first and not knowing what to expect, no one has actually said anything to us so we’re just going by what we’ve read in the press.”
The business owner said she felt “let down” by the lack of communication from authorities and that there had been “no support” offered to businesses.
Ms Anyamene said the pharmacy had received many calls from customers who were “scared and worried” about whether it was safe to collect their medicine.
“We’ve had to reassure people that it’s safe,” she added.
The pharmacist said that many of her customers were elderly and the closed-off roads were making it difficult for people to pick up prescriptions easily.
Sarah Lewis, who lives on William Way and was evacuated from her home along with her two daughters aged four and six, said she felt “extremely stressed” about the uncertainty surrounding when she may be allowed back back to the house.
The 36-year-old said on Thursday that the council have told her it could be between two to four months until the family may be able to return home.
The IT worker, who has recently been made redundant, said the family had been “homeless” until 9pm on Wednesday evening and that the AirBnB provided by their home insurance company has black mould in it.
She criticised the council for a “blackhole of information”, adding that residents had been left to “fend for themselves”.
Ms Lewis added: “We have no idea how long we’ll be out of our home.
“We have no idea how long the insurance are going to pay for us to have somewhere to live.
“We don’t know what kind of home we’re going to be able to live in and the council just have no answers whatsoever.”
Dana Hussein, 39, who owns a barber shop on Godstone High Street said he was “worried” about the impact of the sinkhole on his business and that, so far this week, he has only had a few customers as people are staying away from the area.
“We are so worried because the council said it may take nearly six months to fix, three to six months.
“If that road was closed for three to six months, it would affect our business because we would lose all the customers for six months.”
Catherine Sayer, the leader of Tandridge District Council, said the council had been “doing their best” to keep residents informed, adding that information was available at the nearby St Nicholas’s Youth Centre.”
The councillor added that she was “very sorry” if anyone felt let down, and that any resident was welcome to get in touch if they “need to talk to somebody”.
In a statement, the council said all affected residents will be contacted by the end of Thursday with an update.
In a separate statement, a spokesperson for Surrey County Council said: “Residents who have been displaced are being supported by Tandridge District Council through their housing teams, and are being (and will be) contacted proactively throughout the incident.
“Both councils’ contact centres have been receiving calls throughout the past three days, have dedicated webpages live and have been issuing updates via their news pages and social media.”
On Thursday morning, Matt Furniss, the cabinet member for highways, transport and economic growth at the county council, said properties surrounding the sinkhole have been declared stable for now and that the investigation into the incident “may take months.”
He told the PA news agency: “All properties have been surveyed and we believe are currently structurally sound, but this may not remain the case.”
Mr Furniss also addressed fears that an explosion may occur due to exposed cables, saying: “All utilities have been capped around the site so no concerns there.”
He confirmed a second sinkhole appeared in a property’s front garden on Tuesday afternoon, which is thought to be linked to the first.
In a previous statement, Tandridge District Council said they understood there were “historical sandpits” in the area, adding that the site was being assessed by structural experts.
