“Historic” Hayling Island sinkhole dubbed an “accident waiting to happen”

A sinkhole in the middle of Fishery Lane, Hayling Island, has left residents and local council members concerned, with the locals hitting out at Hampshire County Council which they said has not taken any responsibility for months.

Havant borough councillor Mark Coates said he has received residents’ complaints since last year when they reported it on Hampshire County Council’s pothole report website.

He mentioned that he receives complaints from residents about the sinkhole almost “every day”, with the responsibility for fixing it lying with Hampshire County Council (HCC) as the local highway authority. While it has been reported, he said there has been no solution or response from the county council.

Cllr Coates, a Labour member for Hayling East, said: “HCC, it’s known that for months. I don’t know how many months, but it could exceed the year. It’s being reported already, but nothing is being done.”

“You give them a couple of months because there is a lot of demand for repairing potholes. You waited for a few months, and still nothing. So I double-checked with Portsmouth Water, and they said it is nothing to do with them.”

After months of waiting, the councillor contacted Portsmouth Water to find out if any leak from the water company had caused the hole – but the firm said it wasn’t.

Portsmouth Water then sent an email to the councillor, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, saying that workers attended Fishery Lane to investigate their “apparatus” and confirmed that there were no existing leaks in the road that would “contribute to the void”.

Therefore, the highway’s local authority would be responsible for carrying out any repairs to fill in the void. the councillor said. While no hole has opened up, the road surface has dropped and signs have been put up warning drivers.

Cllr Coates has since told the county council that locals had been waiting for many months and that Fishery Lane “is now a rollercoaster” where “it makes driving difficult”.

Cllr Coates said: “I think it’s an accident waiting to happen. Now, the curve is actually sort of dropping at the site. It is a significant drop. You would see the difference if someone were standing in it; it must have been a footdrop. It is going down. It is really obvious and remarkable.”

Despite understanding the county council’s financial position, he said that the council is not dealing with incidents ”effectively” and is in “chaos”.

Cllr Coates said: “I’ve got a little sympathy with the fact Hampshire has less resources because Rishi Sunak pulled away 40 per cent of council funding, and they have to find over £130 million savings this year, but they are not playing fair.

“They are not dealing with incidents in an efficient way. It feels like Hampshire County Council is in chaos. We’ve got a new leader, so we will see how Adams-Kings does, and hopefully, he will be able to turn the ship around.”

A Hampshire County Council spokesperson said: “Work to restore the road surface at Fishery Lane has been scheduled to take place in the autumn. This is to avoid any impact on local businesses during the busier summer months. Temporary signs have been erected to warn road users of the uneven surface and to encourage slower speeds until the road is repaired.”