Anglian Water extend Northampton roadworks after condemning house builder's 'unsafe and dangerous' excavation
The hole in Adnitt Street, Abington, where sewer works are being installed has been covered with metal plates after engineers found the site was 'unsafe.'
A shop owner on Adnitt Street said: "A customer told me the floor collapsed and there was a lot of water in the hole. Now it's all on hold.
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Hide Ad"The road has been closed for two weeks now. It's affecting trade.
"I heard something went awry during the storm last week."
The sewer works are outside a development for five new town houses being built on the former site of Gospel Hall church, which was demolished in early 2016.
A resident who lives opposite the building site said: "From what I heard, someone working on the sewers dug a hole without getting permission and did some damage in the process, and then part of the road collapsed."
A note for the development on Highways.org read: "We are taking over the developers' unsafe & dangerous excavation."
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Hide AdAn Anglian Water spokesperson said “A third party was working to install a new sewerage connection on Adnitt Road in Northampton. They contacted us as they found some damage to the main sewer we own when they began work.
“Our engineers visited the site and found the works taking place to be unsafe.
“We have now taken over these works and are carrying out a structural survey of the site to ensure we keep our staff and customers safe. Once completed, our teams will be working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible.
“We’re sorry for any inconvenience this causes and would like to thank road users for their patience while the work is completed.”
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Hide AdThe work was scheduled to finish on March 10. It is unclear now when the road closure will now end.
Another resident, on Allen Road, said: "I've been having trouble with my drains since around about last week. We tried to put some drain cleaner down it and it bubbled back up."