Sinkhole road reopens after months of local anger

A high street swallowed by a sinkhole has reopened almost 18 months later following anger from some residents and businesses.

Godstone High Street in Surrey was closed in February 2025 after a nearly 20m (65ft) sinkhole opened in the middle of the road, forcing homes to be evacuated.

Mark Cullinan, who owns the nearby The Hare & Hounds pub, said that he was in disbelief at the lack of help or communication from the authorities. "We've had nothing", he told the BBC.

David White, from Surrey County Council, said that he had sympathy for those affected, adding that the repairs cost an estimated £3.5m.

Cullinan said that the impact of the sinkhole was "crazy – all of a sudden everything went quiet".

He worried that the High Street had been closed for so long that people may no longer come through as they had found alternative routes around the village.

"We used to get an awful lot of passing trade. It's a big worry it's not going to come back," he added.

White said the council had "worked as quickly as we could", adding that those affected had been spoken to at length, including written monthly updates.

He said that the authority – which was responsible for the road repair – was not "in a position to speculate" on the sinkhole's cause.

"Our focus has been solely on repairing and reopening the road safely," he added.

Engineering works have involved detecting and filling in underground holes from "unregulated and uncharted" mining dating back to the 19th Century, White said.

"The repair we've undertaken is like making a cake in your kitchen while standing on the roof of your house," he said.

"We also had to safely negotiate all the pipes and cables in the ground.

"From a technical point of view, the pace at which we've had to investigate, design, procure and construct the solution has actually happened incredibly quickly."

Shane Fry, who owns a mechanics on the street, told the BBC that he was elated the road had reopened.

"It's been a long time coming," he said. "There's a lot of businesses here that are struggling. It's going to make a huge difference to the community again."

Fry added that for the first five months of the road closure, his business was "touch and go".

He estimated that DD Services Ltd had lost £80,000 during that time, but added that Tandridge District Council had given affected firms business rates relief until March 2027.

" We're going to have to relearn how we did business before the sinkhole," he said.

"It's going to be a difficult few months".

Follow BBC Surrey on Facebook, X, and Instagram and listen to BBC Radio Surrey on Sounds. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.