Road closures continue in Exmouth for sinkhole repair

Roads in Exmouth town centre have remained closed this week after a 'sinkhole' opened up last month.

The hole appeared on June 19 at the Albion Street/George Street junction.

South West Water has been working at the site, and in nearby roads, since then.

South West Water said their investigation had found a leak in a drinking water main near Montpelier Road which had caused the sinkhole to appear.

On Monday (July 1) a spokesperson said: "We have repaired the drinking water leak near Montpellier Road in Exmouth and we aim to repair the sinkhole by the end of the week.

"There is no impact to customer supplies, but a road closure is currently in place from the bottom of Albion Street where it joins Union Street for the safety of our teams and the public."

A local resident took some photos of the area on Monday, July 1. The pictures show that the original hole has now been greatly enlarged and there are deep excavations.

He said that while South West Water was working on this section on the night of Friday 28 June/Saturday 29 June, some local households lost their mains water supply overnight, but it was restored by Saturday morning.

On Monday a large section of George Street remained cordoned off, near the junction of Albion Street.

The local resident said: "The closure has been causing issues. Late last week, nearby residents were complaining of the bad smell from the repairs and consequently being unable to open their windows at night. This was particularly difficult during the recent hot weather. Local residents have also been reporting that they felt 'trapped' as their vehicles cannot access Perryman's Row or George Street.

"On Thursday, June 27, some local residents on George Street - near where the repair works are - had to move their recycling and landfill bins further up George Street to ensure they were collected by EDDC.

"Last week the repair works also expanded up Albion Hill. Over the weekend both Clarence Road and Henrietta Road were closed while repairs took place.

"Henrietta Road has now reopened, while Clarence Road remains partially closed. Both roads are in Devon County Council's Residents' Parking Zone C, and consequently local residents have struggled to park their vehicles easily in these roads. Access for larger vehicles - for deliveries, etc - has been very difficult.

"The repair works appear to have been completed on Montpellier Road. However access is still slightly difficult as some smaller roadworks have appeared on Albion Hill, near the junction with Montpellier Road. Local diversions are still very much in place."