Play all audios:
A SINKHOLE SUDDENLY APPEARED IN THE VILLAGE OF GODSTONE, SURREY, ON MONDAY, FORCING EVACUATIONS AND ROAD CLOSURES, AND NOW RESIDENTS ARE STILL WAITING TO HEAR WHEN THEY CAN RETURN 16:22, 20
Feb 2025 Evacuated residents living near a sinkhole have said they feel "let down" by the council as it may take months before they can return to their homes. The sinkhole appeared
in the small village of Godstone, Surrey, on Monday night with a 100-metre cordon put in place, local roads closed and a major incident declared by local agencies. By Wednesday, the
residents evacuated from 30 properties still did not know when they will be able to go back to their properties. Ifesi Anyamene, 50, who owns a pharmacy in Godstone High Street near the edge
of the cordoned-off roads, said that "nobody" from the council had been in touch with her about the ongoing situation. She said: "It was scary at first and not knowing what
to expect, no one has actually said anything to us so we're just going by what we've read in the press." The business owner said she felt "let down" by the lack of
communication from authorities and that there had been "no support" offered to businesses. Ms Anyamene said the pharmacy had received many calls from customers who were
"scared and worried" about the sinkhole and whether it was safe to come and collect their medicine. "We've had to reassure people that it's safe," she added.
The pharmacist said that many of her customers were elderly and the closed-off roads were making it difficult for people to pick up prescriptions easily. READ MORE: '65ft Godstone
sinkhole is swallowing our street but we won't leave - we are not afraid' Article continues below Sarah Lewis, who lives on William Way and was evacuated from her home 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 her home and where her family will live in
the meantime. The 36-year-old said on Thursday that the council has told her it could be between two to four months until the family may be able to return home. The IT worker, who has
recently been made redundant, said the family had been "homeless" until 9pm on Wednesday evening and that the AirBnB provided by their home insurance company has black mould in it.
She criticised the council for a "black hole of information", adding that residents had been left to "fend for themselves". "I wasn't home when the sinkhole
happened, I was actually at a funeral, so we were woken up at midnight to our Ring doorbell to be told that we needed to evacuate. Since, it's been a black hole of information. So
luckily, we have a resident WhatsApp that is keeping us updated, but there's no real official information. "I've just gone in now to try and get more information. There's
none. We have no idea how long we'll be out of our home. We have no idea how long the insurance are going to pay for us to have somewhere to live. We don't know what kind of home
we're going to be able to live in and the council just have no answers whatsoever." 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. So far this week, he has only had a few customers as people are staying away from the area. "We are so worried because the council
said it may take nearly six months to fix, three to six months," he said. "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." On Thursday morning, Matt Furniss, the cabinet member for highways, transport and economic growth at Surrey County Council, said properties surrounding
the sinkhole have been declared stable for now. He said: "All properties have been surveyed and we believe are currently structurally sound, but this may not remain the case. We are
starting borehole investigations today. We cannot estimate a timescale for return but will keep residents updated. It may take months." Mr Furniss also addressed fears that an explosion
may occur due to exposed cables, saying: "All utilities have been capped around the site so no concerns there." He confirmed a second sinkhole appeared in a property's front
garden on Tuesday afternoon, which is thought to be linked to the first one. Photographs showed a car teetering on the edge of the hole - with its wheels just a few inches away from the
eroded tarmac. In a statement on Wednesday, Tandridge District Council said it understood there were "historical sandpits" in the area, adding that the site was being assessed by
structural experts. Carl Bussey, Surrey County Council assistant director for safer communities and chairman of the strategic co-ordination group for the incident said: "We're well
aware that the longer this incident continues, the greater the disruption for residents impacted. We thank them for their patience and commit to working as quickly and safely as possible to
support them and return the situation to normal. Article continues below "This is now being treated as an ongoing significant incident as work continues to ensure the site is stable
and repair work can begin." He added that road closures and diversions remained in place and that residents would be granted "supervised access" to properties to collect their
belongings. Mr Bussey continued: "We will continue to conduct technical assessments of the area and if there are homes that are deemed structurally safe then residents will be able to
return home. However the full-scale repair of the site will likely take several weeks, if not months."