Sinkhole roads chaos could crucify us, trader says

Businesses are being promised help while road closures are in place

The owner of a garage in a village where two large sinkholes appeared has expressed concern over the affect of road closures on businesses.

The holes appeared in the centre of Godstone, Surrey, overnight on Monday last week, with the largest hole reaching 65ft (20m) long.

Homes have been evacuated and a public meeting on Wednesday heard it could take up to 12 months to repair the road.

Garage owner Shane Fry told BBC Radio Surrey disruption over that time "could crucify a business".

He said: "Trying to work out logistics of how we stay open has been extremely difficult.

"We can deal with anywhere between 15 and 20 cars a day. It's fairly hectic on a normal week."

But he added he was hopeful things would improve quickly.

"Once we get through the logistics of how our businesses can sustain a normal day I think it'll just become the new norm," he said.

"And once everyone gets used to it, businesses will carry on surviving."

Shane Fry says customers are slowly finding their way back to his garage

Tandridge District Council's leader, Catherine Sayer, said she believed Surrey County Council understood from the meeting how important it was to improve access and signage for businesses that were affected.

The district council, which is also housing some families in emergency accommodation, said with a timescale in place, long-term plans can now be made.

"I know some of the residents have sourced Airbnbs that would match the price the council has to pay for Travelodge accommodation," she said.

"It costs us £500 a week to house a family in a Travelodge."

Repairing the damage caused by the two sinkholes will take up to a year, experts are warning

She also said there had been a mixed reaction from insurance companies contacted by homeowners.

"A couple of them have been absolutely great," she said.

"But a couple of them have been absolutely awful and that has added to the confusion. It's made our job much harder."

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