11
May
Homes evacuated due to sinkhole in Ripon
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Firefighters evacuated homes in Ripon yesterday (May 10) when a sinkhole appeared close to homes on North Road.
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s incident report said a crew from the city responded to reports of a hole opening up at 3.26pm.
The report said:
Crews confirmed a sinkhole measuring 5m x 5m and a depth of about 2m. Crews evacuated nearby residents and isolated the utilities to the affected property. Advice given to a responsible person with crews arranged to revisit tomorrow.
Ripon is situated on a layer of water-soluble rock called gypsum, which makes it susceptible to sinkholes.
North Road, in the north-east part of the city, is an an area that is particularly prone to the problem.
Last year, the Stray Ferret reported that blocks of council flats on Princess Close in the Magdalens area of the city were to be demolished due to sinkholes.
Ground instability issues also led to the cost of work to renovate and extend the leisure centre running £13 million over budget.
Firefighters also responded to reports of a chimney fire yesterday at a home in Orchard Close in Summerbridge.
Crews from Harrogate and Summerbridge were summoned at 1.07pm.
“The incident report said: Fire was out on arrival, crews used a thermal imaging camera to check for further hotspots.”
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