ANGRY Ayr residents have slammed delays in repairing a giant 'sinkhole' in their street.
A section of road outside their homes in Thornwood Avenue, Dalmilling caved in on March 25 and had to be fenced off for safety reasons.
Householders say they've been left fearing for the future of their properties as the Coal Authority continue to investigate the collapse, which is believed to have been caused by historical mine workings in the area.
The Advertiser previously spoke to residents who said the partial collapse of the road had left them fearing for their safety.
Local resident Alan Craig, 67, said the situation had grown progressively worse since the hole first appeared almost 10 weeks ago.
A section of Thornwood Avenue partially collapsed in March (Image: Coal Authority)
Mr Craig told the Advertiser: "We just don't know what is happening.
"The Coal Board are not offering any information at all, there has been no work on site in three weeks now.
"The road collapse has also affected services like bin collections.
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"People are concerned by the lack of information of how this hole in the road will affect their properties.
"Many of us in the street own our homes and we are being kept in the dark.
"We got letters saying they would keep us up to date, but we’re still waiting.”
A section of Thornwood Avenue partially collapsed in March
Owners are particularly worried at how the apparent subsidence will affect the future value of their own properties and ability to sell them in the future.
Some have previously had problems getting mortgages because of the mine workings in the area.
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The Coal Authority sent a fact sheet soon after their investigation began, but Mr Craig says residents have heard little from them since.
A Coal Authority spokesperson said: “We have now completed the first phase of our ground investigations and we’re using the information from this to help design a permanent safety solution for this complex incident.
A section of Thornwood Avenue partially collapsed in March (Image: Coal Authority)
“We understand that the ground collapse on Thornwood Avenue will be causing concern and disruption for a number of residents and we thank them for their patience and understanding during the works.
“We have a number of processes in place to ensure public safety and residents can contact our 24/7 emergency hazard line on 0800 288 4242 to report any incidents."
Kevin Braidwood, head of roads at the Ayrshire Roads Alliance said: “In the interests of public safety there is still an exclusion zone around the ground collapse.
"This is likely to remain in place until the Coal Authority has completed their investigations and resolved the issue."
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