WORK to repair a sinkhole that opened in a Wokingham street during half-term is still ongoing.
At a meeting of Wokingham Borough Council on Thursday, November 17, Cllr Adrian Mather asked the Executive Member for Active Travel, Transport and Highways, for an update on the event, which saw a Thames Water lorry fall into the collapsed sewer in Evendons Lane.
“This has caused significant disruption to the residents of the whole area. In addition, Evendons school, the teachers, pupils, parents and carers have been disrupted,” he said, adding that Elms Field also suffered a similar issue last year, and the situation had not been fully resolved.
Responding, Cllr Paul Fishwick said work to repair the sinkhole was ongoing and difficult due to the depth of the sewer, some 4.3m below ground level. This means a second deep excavation is required, but work is delayed due to high groundwater levels.
“Thames Water sunk 16 bore holes and now hope to commence digging … to commence the repairs as quickly as possible,” he said, adding that his team had weekly progress meetings.
Cllr Mather asked for Thames Water to undertake a survey to ensure a third lorry didn’t fall in.
“We can ask the question,” Cllr Fishwick promised, “but I don’t know what answer we’ll get.”
