A sink hole by the Victoria Fountain in Brighton appears to have been caused by a fairground ride at the first Christmas market last year, according to an official report.
But the fountain – and the Victorian sewers below – do not seem to be in further danger and steps can be taken to spread loads in future to prevent a recurrence.
The weight of the ride, supported by a jack, appears to have damaged a thin surface area which had a void or cavity beneath it, caused by water washing away fine soil.
The official report was prepared by civil and structural engineer Jon Orrell, a founder partner of the Hemsley Orrell Partnership (HOP), for Brighton and Hove City Council.
Mr Orrell said: “From our surface visible observations, it would appear that a high load from a jack has ‘punched through’ surface layers in an area where a void probably already existed below.
“The load imposed by that jack, locally, was far greater than any general use would have generated before.
“Provided any exceptional future points loads, such as heavy lorry wheels or stabilising jacks, are appropriately dealt with by means of suitably sized spreaders – and the situation properly monitored – then we do not believe there is cause for immediate concern in respect of additional swallow holes appearing.”
The sink hole, in Old Steine Gardens, appeared after the Christmas market ended last December and is not linked to problems with the Victoria Fountain which is temporarily propped.
The fountain’s problems were down to corroding bolts and “faulty services above ground” – not voids beneath the surface or other geological issues, according to a covering report to councillors.
HOP has been appointed to give specialist advice and manage a £250,000 project to repair and renovate the Victoria Fountain.
A report to the council’s Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee said: “These (works) are now programmed to start in 2023 following two unsuccessful attempts at tendering the contract whereby no tender returns were received.
“It is part of HOP’s brief to assess the ground conditions to ensure safe working practices including the use of a crane that will be needed for the fountain refurbishment project.
“Difficulties have been experienced in tendering this project against the background of nationally spiralling construction costs and lack of construction specialisms and skills.
“We have had two unsuccessful tendering attempts. Both were via the council’s existing frameworks agreements and a specific list of contractors recommended by the external structural consultant.
“A total of 12 contractors have been invited to tender and zero responses have been received.
In other news, Pope confirmed as being Catholic and bear seen disappearing into forest with wad of paper
Presumably the litter in and around the hole is due to a lack of bins in the area, or can we hope the litterers fell in never to be seen again?
The sinkhole is NOT caused by the xmas market, it is caused because the ground underneath it is MISSING!
Probably better to understand why the ground is missing there rather than point finger elsewhere.
So in other words, we were lucky that the xmas market ride exposed the sinkhole before some poor soul found it the hard way.
In other words this area is totally unsuitable for such events.