A large sinkhole has appeared in the centre of a Nottinghamshire village which is causing an ‘inconvenience to the residents and businesses’. On March 14 (Sunday), a sinkhole opened up at the junction of Main Road and Plumtree Road in Cotgrave.
The sinkhole has created a "significant water leak" which has caused the roads to be closed in both directions. Nottinghamshire Police first put the road closures in place on Sunday afternoon [May 14] and passed on the incident to the County Council, as Severn Trent work to fix the issue.
“It's one of those things, all that’s happening is traffic is being diverted.," said County Councillor Richard Butler. "It’s quite a busy junction and the sinkhole appeared yesterday. They’re doing what they have to do. The main effect is on the traffic on Bingham Road and Main Road and it’s being diverted.
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"I don’t know how long it’s going to be closed for, I haven’t had an update. It is what it is, they’re doing what they have to do to sort it. Let’s hope it gets resolved as soon as possible.
“I think it’s really important that they get this sorted out really quickly. It’s causing considerable inconvenience to residents and businesses.”
Alison Lister, who is in her 50s, first found out about the sinkhole on social media in a community group. She said: “It’s where the centre of the village is, but these things happen. It’s amazing that there’s not more if you look at the stability of the roads. All of that is put down to the roads not being cared for.
“You don't know how weak all the substructure of that long stretch is. You don’t know if a big lorry drives there and opens up a gateway to the underworld,” she joked.
“It’s quite a small village, it’s quite exciting really. Nothing particularly dramatic happens. It’s a happy little place to live.”
68-year-old Phillip Symms, added: “The sinkhole came yesterday. My bus can’t even get to town or from town. The main road is closed off by the police. Having talked to one or two people, they seem to be frustrated."
Mr Symms added that he’s seen a number of cars ignoring the road closure signs and driving on the section on the road. He also said that he saw a few driving on the pavement.
He continued:“I’ve seen two cars coming down here. Some are coming down, those people can’t escape.”
On March 14, Nottinghamshire County Council issued an updated statement about the damaged road on Twitter. It said: "Sinkhole in Cotgrave.
"Severn Trent Water is currently attending a sinkhole and a significant water leak at the junction of Main Road/Plumtree Road in Cotgrave. A full road closure is in operation in both directions with diversions in place."
It added: "The planned closure of Stragglethorpe Road, Holme Pierrepont/Stragglethorpe from its junction with the A52 Radcliffe Road to its junction with A46 Fosse Way has been suspended whilst they deal with the sinkhole."
When the sinkhole was initially reported Nottinghamshire Police attended the scene to close the road. The force said at the time: "Junction of Plumtree Road / Main Road / Bingham Road in Cotgrave to be closed following emergence of a sinkhole.
"Following discovery of a sink hole earlier this afternoon (14/05/2023) the following road closures will come into effect later this afternoon around the junction of Plumtree Road / Main Road / BinghamRoad in Cotgrave and will be in place until further notice. Bingham Road (from Sainsbury's) to the Jet Garage on Main Road and Plumtree RRoad will be closed from Scrimshire Lane.
"The incident has been passed to the County Council and an update will be provided on road closures when available. Please allow extra time for journeys, especially at peak times, and be patient towards other road users."
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