End in sight for huge sinkhole at Henry Penn Walk in Peterborough city centre - as works to start THIS WEEK on Town Bridge

The hole appeared in the path at Henry Penn Walk, near Rivergate by the side of the Nene, a number of years ago.

Since appearing, the hole has grown, causing the wall supporting the path next to the River Nene to bow.

There have been fears raised that the wall could collapse – with Peterborough MP Andrew Pakes among those to call for the hole to be fixed.

Earlier this year, due to issues with drainage, residents living in homes next to the hole were forced to use portable toilets in the car park, while emergency issues with drainage were fixed.

Freeholders Riverview House Freehold Ltd are responsible for carrying out the works on the footpath.

But now works are set to begin – starting on Wednesday, September 3.

In a post on social media, Peterborough City Council said the works would cause traffic disruption on Town Bridge for several weeks, with ‘intermittent’ lane closures needed over the next two months.

The spokesperson said: The freeholder of Henry Penn Walk will be starting repair work on Wednesday 3 September, with restricted working hours between 9:30am and 3:30pm. Traffic management for this scheme is complicated and will include requirement of a lane closure for certain activities that will be set out and removed as required within the working window.

“The works are anticipated to take 6 to 8 weeks however this time scale is quite fluid due to a number of unpredictable elements of the works. Due to the exceptional nature of this scheme special permission has been granted to allow traffic management on a busy city route during the day.

“We have placed a number of conditions on the works, including limited working hours, in an effort to minimise disruption as much as possible however we do anticipate delays to traffic and pedestrians.”

The Peterborough Telegraph contacted freeholders Riverview House Freehold Ltd for an update on the sink hole on Monday. In May, the freeholders said it was hoped that remedial works would be able to completed before the Autumn of this year.”

In the spring, Cllr Angus Ellis, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport: “Officers are continuing to assist the Freeholders (RHFL) with their proposals for undertaking work at Henry Penn Walk.

“We hope this issue can resolved as soon as possible but in the meantime the footpath continues to be closed for public safety.”

The Environment Agency had also said that they had been working with Riverview House Freehold Ltd and Peterborough City Council (PCC) for some years to seek a viable engineering solution.

It is unclear whether more works will be needed following the upcoming set to fully repair the sink hole.