‘Mine shaft’ Arnold sinkhole left ‘creeping’ across road

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🕳️ 'Mystery' sinkhole left 'creeping' across Arnold street

A sinkhole on a narrow Arnold road has been left to grow as confusion lingers over who is responsible for fixing it.

In late January, people living on Acton Road noticed damage forming to the middle of the street.

At the time, the sinkhole appeared small, but a resident says it’s now “creeping further” across the road.

Nottinghamshire County Council has confirmed it visited the site on February 3, where metal fencing was later installed around it and an orange board placed over the top.

On February 26, the authority’s highway team dug down to investigate where a broken pipe – believed to fall under Severn Trent’s remit – was found. The sinkhole was determined as not being an ‘immediate risk’, given a 28-day timescale, where Severn Trent would be contacted to investigate.

A spokeswoman at Whitegates Estate and Lettings Agents in Beeston, who lives nearby to the sinkhole in Arnold, described the sinkhole as a “mine shaft”.

She said multiple residents had reported the growing pothole to the County Council and she was informed it would be marked as “urgent”. But she said no other work had taken place since it was fenced off.

A road defect was officially logged online for the road from February 3, where the time frame for it being fixed goes on until April 10 – which the spokeswoman says has been increased from the middle of March.

She said: “It’s a mine shaft. It’s fenced off but it’s creeping further across the road – the fence does need moving because it’s spreading.

“If you have kids, kids climb over fences. It can be moved to one side. If someone was drunk and someone left that open, they could stagger in there.”

The spokeswoman contacted Severn Trent about the sinkhole as a pipe can be seen through the damage but said she was told it came under the County Council’s responsibility.

She said: “I’m sick and tired, they’re still blaming each other, no one’s doing anything about anything. You’ve had our money, my council tax, stop wasting it on people and bigwigs in offices telling people what to do.

“We’ve been forgotten about because it’s on a little back street, that’s what it feels like.

“What if it’s me driving to work and I lose the front end of my car or the back wheel – who’s going to pay for that?”

Severn Trent have been contacted twice over the sinkhole, with the confusion brewing over which organisation held responsibility for fixing the damage.

A Severn Trent spokesperson said in a statement on Monday (March 16): “We visited Acton Road on March 3, 2026, to investigate reports of a broken pipe.

“Our team carried out the investigation, using CCTV cameras, and found there was no issue with any of the Severn Trent network. We’ll be liaising with the council to resolve the issue as soon as possible.”

The fencing has meant wider vehicles have had to mount the pavement to manoeuvre getting past the spot.

County Councillor John Semens (Ref), who represents Arnold North on the authority and is the deputy cabinet member for transport and environment, addressed the sinkhole.

He said: “Acton Road is not a particularly wide road… the nature of a sinkhole is they can grow and we’ve had some particular apocalyptic deluge so if water has got into that it can grow.

“I visited the road – [the sinkhole] is quite epic. If it erodes any more under the tarmac, it will get bigger and the road will be impassable.”

Cllr Semens said the sinkhole was around five to six feet deep and had witnessed a motorist picking part of their wing mirror up off the road after hitting the metal fencing with their car.

He added: “This needs fixing quick, it’s a safety critical issue. People are having to mount the pavement – it’s ridiculous, in no world is that acceptable.”

By Lauren Monaghan (Local Democracy Reporter)

⚠️ Heads up...

🌤️ Weather: Today will be dry and sunny with light winds. It will feel warm in the sunshine. There will be clear skies overnight which will lead to a cold feel. There will be some isolated mist and fog patches.

Tomorrow have a cold start but any mist and fog will quickly clear, with another day of prolonged sunshine. Feeling warm in light winds. Cloudier overnight.

🖊️ Last chance to have a say on local authority reorganisation

Gedling borough residents, businesses and organisations now have less than two weeks to take part in the Government consultation on Local Government Reorganisation. 

The consultation, which launched in February, is open until Thursday, March 26 and is gathering views on three proposals submitted to Government for Local Government Reorganisation in the area.

Responses will inform the ministerial decision on the preferred option for the region.

In November 2025, councils across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire submitted three different proposals to Government that set out alternative models for how services and decision making could be organised in the future. 

Each proposal recommends creating two new unitary councils responsible for all local services in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, but each suggests different geographical boundaries. Two Councils (Broxtowe and Ashfield) submitted alternative responses which did not support any of these proposals. Councils also ran an engagement survey in July 2025 to help shape the proposals that were submitted.

The Government online survey is available at www.lgrnotts.org. It is also available in all council libraries and civic buildings. The Government has written directly to some statutory consultees, but anyone can take part and provide their views.

More information about the consultation and how to take part can be found at www.lgrnotts.org.

In Brief...

A 12,679 sq ft industrial unit on Pintail Close, Netherfield, Nottingham, has been let and sold in a back-to-back transaction.

The incoming tenant, Jewson Partnership Solutions (JPS), relocated from the Jewson building on Colwick Industrial Estate.

JPS delivers services to registered providers of social housing, public sector repairs, and maintenance contracts. The company has signed a new 10-year lease on the property.

📷 Retro pic of the day...

Send your local pictures from the past to news@gedlingeye.co.uk and we'll feature them here

Old photo of Arnold...