Residents who fled after a large sinkhole opened up in a Surrey village may not be able to return to their homes for “several weeks, if not months”.
Carl Bussey, Surrey County Council’s chair of the Strategic Coordination Group for the incident, said assessments on properties could continue but that residents would only be able to return home when buildings were “deemed structurally safe”.
Speaking to Sky News correspondent Shamaan Freeman-Powell, Godstone resident Sarah Lewis, said she and her family may have to live in alternative accommodation for months while repair work is carried out on the 62ft hole that appeared on Monday night.
“We are being told it could be anything from two to four months before we could return to our homes,” she said.
“I don’t know what we are going to do.”
The 36-year-old IT worker said she is mainly disappointed for her children – two girls aged four and six – as she is currently unable to give them the “security or stability” they need.
She said: “Until we know how long we are going to be out of a home, we can’t really give them that. We don’t know where we are going to be able to live, so we don’t know what to tell them.”
Ms Lewis’s property in William Way was one of 30 that were evacuated after Surrey County Council declared a major incident and put in place a 100m cordon near Godstone High Street due to the sinkhole.
A second sinkhole then appeared in a property’s front garden, which is thought to be linked to the first.
What caused the two holes remains unknown and is still being investigated.
Tandridge District Council said on Thursday that the sinkhole remains a “significant incident” and the council is working alongside Surrey County Council and other agencies to “resolve the situation as quickly as possible”.
It said work is ongoing to assess whether any properties are safe for residents to return to, and those still affected will be allowed back to the site to collect “essential belongings”.
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It did not provide an estimate on how long residents would be out of their homes for.
“The full-scale repair of the site will likely take several weeks, if not months,” Mr Bussey said.
Matt Furniss, the cabinet member for highways, transport and economic growth at the county council, added that properties surrounding the sinkhole have been declared stable for now, but admitted this “may not remain the case”.
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‘Who knows where we will go’
Ms Lewis acknowledged the council is looking for proper long-term housing for affected residents, but it has not offered any financial support.
“It is frustrating,” she said.
“This is going to cost us a lot of money, and it is unlikely we are going to be able to go back into our house to get larger items. We are going to have to buy to replace, even if we have to go and live in an Airbnb for the next few months.”
She added that until 9pm on Wednesday night, her family were “homeless” and claimed the Airbnb she had been put in by her home insurance company has black mould in.
“We have to stay there for the next week, but we don’t know where we are going to live in a week’s time,” she added.
“We have worked really hard to buy the house we have brought, and who knows where we will go for the next few months.”
She said the whole ordeal has been “incredibly stressful”.
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Businesses ‘losing customers daily’
Other residents, including garage owner Shane Fry, told Sky News his business was “losing customers daily” as people presume his garage is closed.
“I am trying to get them [local authorities] to put up at least some signage to say the business is still open,” he said.
“My main priority is that the businesses can remain open and functional, otherwise it is going to cost us dearly.
“We are losing customers on a daily basis, they are going elsewhere and the moment they do, the chances of them coming back are going to be slim.”
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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.”
Local MP Claire Coutinho also said local businesses may be able to apply for a reduced council tax rate while the issue is ongoing.
