Sinkhole at North Tyneside allotments repaired in 2 days

Sinkhole at North Tyneside allotments repaired in 2 days
Mining Remediation Authority uses innovative resin injection technique to fix a sinkhole at Marden Farm Allotments, keeping disruption to a minimum.
Last month, the Mining Remediation Authority (MRA) responded to reports of a sinkhole at Marden Farm Allotments in North Tyneside. The team completed repairs in just 2 days.
The sinkhole was caused by a collapse in shallow, unrecorded historical mine workings beneath a paved area on one of the allotment plots.
The affected plot was full of raised beds, greenhouses and garden furniture, with only a narrow walkway leading to the collapse. A traditional dig-and-fill repair would have meant removing much of the plot infrastructure and crops and could have taken up to 2 weeks.
Instead, specialist contractors injected expanding resin foam into the ground through small, drilled holes, stabilising the collapse from below. Only a few paving slabs needed to be lifted, and the plot was left in good order when the work was complete.
The approach cut the job from an estimated 2 weeks down to just 2 days, at a lower cost and with far less disruption to allotment users.
Colin Campbell, the safety officer at Marden Farm Allotments, said:
From the moment they arrived, the team kept us in the loop and explained exactly what was happening. We were concerned about the disruption a repair like this might cause based on previous experience of two similar collapses when remediation action has employed excavation and backfilling techniques, but they were in and out in 2 days and you’d barely know they’d been here. We couldn’t have asked for more.
Barry Whitelaw, project manager at the MRA, said:
We knew straight away that a standard excavation would have caused real disruption to the plot holders – their allotments are important to them and we wanted to find a way to do the job with as little impact as possible.
We kept in close contact with Colin throughout and I’m really pleased we were able to find a solution that worked for everyone. To have it wrapped up in two days and leave the site just as we found it was a great result, and the team didn’t let the heatwave slow them down either!
You can report a coal mining hazard to us, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by calling 0800 288 4242.
For media enquiries contact the community response team
Email communityresponse@miningremediation.gov.uk
Telephone 0800 288 4211
For emergency media enquiries (out of hours) call: 0800 288 4242.
Only urgent media calls will be attended to.