Six evacuated households allowed to return home following Surrey sinkhole
On Friday, Catherine Sayer, leader of Tandridge District Council, said that a total of six households had been permitted to return to their homes.
Six households that were evacuated after a sinkhole swallowed large parts of a road in Surrey have been allowed to return home, a local councillor has said.
Residents from 30 properties were evacuated after a sinkhole appeared in the small village of Godstone on Monday night, causing roads to be closed and traffic diverted.
A second sinkhole, thought to be linked to the first, appeared in a property’s front garden on Tuesday afternoon.
On Friday, Catherine Sayer, leader of Tandridge District Council, said that six of the previously evacuated households had been permitted to return to their homes following safety assessments.
Since the evacuations, local authorities have faced criticism from those living and working in the area regarding a lack of information on when residents would be allowed back home and support for businesses.
Ms Sayer previously said she was “very sorry” if anyone felt let down by the level of support from the local authority, adding the council had been “doing their best” to keep residents informed.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Sarah Lewis, who lives on William Way and was evacuated along with her two daughters aged four and six, said she felt “extremely stressed” about the uncertainty surrounding when she may be allowed back to their house.
The 36-year-old said the council had told her it could be between two to four months until the family may be able to return home and that they are currently staying in an Airbnb.
Ifesi Anyamene, 50, who owns a pharmacy in Godstone High Street near the edge of the cordoned-off roads, said on Thursday that her business 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.
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.
“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.”
In a statement on Thursday, a spokesperson for Surrey County Council said: “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”.
Tandridge District Council previously said it understood there were “historical sandpits” in the area and that the site was being assessed by structural experts.
