Town gets that sink-hole feeling

Holbeach has been dubbed susceptible to sink holes after two opened up in the town in the last four months.

In April, Boston Road North was closed for weeks due to a sink hole opening up in the middle of the carriageway.

The road has since started to sag again in the same place, as well as further towards town.

Last week a new sink hole appeared on North Parade.

At a meeting of Holbeach Parish Council, Coun Nick worth said that this is an “urgent priority” and the two sunken dips are “now causing issues for fire appliances”.

He reported to the council that Lincolnshire County Council is chasing Anglian Water to remedy the situation.

The local highways manager said: “Next week, we’ll be investigating the sinking on Boston Road to identify what’s causing the issue and what works are required.”

With more appearing, the town – which recently had a number of flooded streets in the heavy rain – is on the council’s radar for more issues.

The highways manager explained: “Sink holes are generally caused by underground water washing away soil below the road.

“This creates a void below the surface, which leads to it sinking.

“In Holbeach, the underlying ground is quite sandy and silty which means the area is more susceptible to sink holes than other places.

“As soon as we become aware of a sink hole, we close off the affected area to ensure the safety of motorists, cyclists and pedestrian while we carry out the necessary repairs.

“The first step is to ask the utility companies to investigate, to ensure the sink hole is not related to a problem with their infrastructure. For example, collapsed sewers can also cause this type of issue.

“Once we’ve ruled that out, the sink hole will be filled with a suitable material, such as concrete, and the affected section of road will be resurfaced.

The latest sink hole has this week been patched.

The highways manager said: “A sink hole on North Parade was reported late last week.

“Our alliance partner has filled the void with concrete and will be laying the new surface in the next few days.”

A spokesman for Holbeach Parish Council said a letter has been sent to LCC highways department “to request further information as to what is being done about flood prevention and maintenance programmes for the drainage around Holbeach moving forward.” A reply has not yet been received.
LCC’s highways manager has urged people to report any further incidents of sink holes, as well as pot holes.

He said: “Should anyone encounter a sink hole, or any other highways defect, they should report it via our online system at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/faultreporting .”