Southern Water says the root cause of an ever-expanding sinkhole in Margate remains under investigation with a geotechnical engineer being drafted in.
The hole opened up in St Peter’s Footpath/Church Street last Friday afternoon (January 26) with police officers needing to cordon off the site.
The surface layer of the site collapsed, also bringing down part of a wall, opening up a gaping hole. At least one property was evacuated.
Since then Southern Water has had workmen on-site to temporarily repair a burst in the water main but the void remains and has grown to a significant size.
The hole began appearing in an area that is believed to have been a chalk pit.
Amy Hutchings, Southern Water’s operational manager for water, said: “We’re sorry for the inconvenience caused to customers and drivers. We temporarily repaired a burst on our 3” water main in that area which burst on Friday night.
“Some customers are still being supplied by an overland pipe while we prepare a long term repair.
“The root cause of the sinkhole however remains under investigation and a geotechnical engineer will be attending to assess this.”
Highways workers have installed barriers with sandbags around void which they say is around 5 ft deep.
The road closure is from Poets Corner to Arnold Road. Diversion route is Poets Corner – Milton Avenue – Arnold Road
A Kent County Council (KCC) spokesperson added: “An emergency road closure has been put in place to protect the public after a void in the road was discovered in Church Street, Margate.
“We are working with Southern Water to resolve the issue.”
