When Sarah Lewis, 36, and her partner bought their home on a new-build development site in Godstone in Surrey, they had no idea one day they would be wondering if their investment could sink – physically and financially.
On Monday night a huge sinkhole, which grew to around 65ft (20m) long by Tuesday lunchtime, opened up on Godstone High Street, preventing the Lewis family from returning to their home on William Way, just off the main road. A second sinkhole appeared opposite the first the following day.
The geological phenomenon prompted water in surrounding homes to be shut off, forced around 30 households to be evacuated and left the Lewis family and those displaced effectively homeless with immediate effect.
Surrey County Council, which has declared a major incident, is working to stabilise the situation – but there is no word yet on when the evacuated residents will be able to return to their homes.
It could be months.
Ms Lewis said she and her partner had planned to sell their home, which they “worked really hard to buy” during the pandemic using the Government’s Help to Buy scheme, around five or six years after moving in in 2020.
Now, this looks like a distant reality, if at all possible.
“I’ve literally just been talking to my partner about what this is going to do if we ever want to sell the house,” Ms Lewis told The i Paper. “We never intended to stay here forever.”
Once they can eventually return home, the Lewis family faces having no choice but to continue living at the property for an indefinite period “because nobody is going to want to buy it”, Ms Lewis said.
Property experts have told The i Paper homes in areas affected by sinkholes could become effectively unmortgageable and if homeowners do manage to sell them, they could face a drop in value in the region of 20-30 per cent.
New-build homes on the William Way site have been on the market with an asking price of £550,000.
The prospect of having to delay any plans to sell up or losing value is disheartening for Ms Lewis.
“It’s really disappointing, more for the kids because the reason why we were going to sell and get another house was so they can get a bigger garden to play in,” she said.
“We’re just going to have to make do with the garden we’ve got now for the long term.”
The cause of the sinkholes is yet to be established but experts say it could be the result of a burst water main.
British Geological Society’s Andrew Farrant, regional geologist of the South East told The i Paper: “It is probable that a burst water main has flushed out weak sandstone bedrock, creating a void which has then collapsed.”
The homes on William Way are built on the site of a former sand quarry and some properties surrounding the sinkhole site sit above a network of caves, formerly sand mines.
“None of this showed up on the surveys when we bought our house. There was no mention of the caves, the quarry showed up on there, but not under the house.
“It would have affected our buying decision if we would have known all of that,” Ms Lewis said.
Property and construction expert Natalie Mitchell at HomeHow.co.uk said the value of a home could decrease significantly after the emergence of a major sinkhole.
She said: “Selling a property in an area affected by sinkholes can be very difficult and sometimes impossible.
“If it is possible to sell the property, the value will be at least 20-30 per cent lower than the market value and possibly much less.”
She added: “Auctions are the usual route for such homes, if they can be sold at all. Banks and building societies will also be reluctant to lend on these properties due to the increased risk, so cash buyers are often the only market.
“Areas affected by sinkholes will see lower house prices, higher insurance premiums, lack of willing lenders and a decrease in interest for properties in that particular location.”
Yopa’s national franchise director, Steve Anderson, said: “It’s estimated that properties close to a sinkhole are impacted to the tune of 20-30 per cent in value, which equates to over £80,000 based on the current average UK house price.”
Mr Anderson added that sinkholes can act as a major deterrent when it comes to trying to sell, but can also lead to serious subsidence related issues and ultimately impact the value of a property.
“Subsidence is perhaps the biggest red flag there is when it comes to buying a home and, even if a buyer is prepared to take a gamble, they may find they simply can’t secure a mortgage in order to proceed,” he said.
“In terms of their current mortgage, sinkhole related incidents are usually categorised as impacts of climate change and many lenders now assess these risks when deciding whether or not to approve a mortgage or remortgage application.”
While they wait for news of how long it will be before they can move back, the family are staying in an Airbnb, which Ms Lewis said she had to “strong-arm” her insurers into sorting.
The conditions are not ideal, the property has black mould, she said. Plus, the downsize from a four-bed to a two-bed means their family is temporarily split up as they cannot accommodate her stepdaughter in the temporary space.
Ms Lewis is keen for stability and a space where the entire family can stay. But ultimately she would like to return home.
However, before she is comfortable enough to do that, Ms Lewis said they will get an independent assessment to determine structural safety.
“We’ll probably get some engineers out to check and to do some surveying and make sure that it’s going to be OK for the long term before we commit to living there again,” she said.
Cath Bourg, who lives just outside the cordoned off area, was worried her home could be in danger.
Ms Bourg was one of several residents living in or close to the site of the sinkholes who was in search of answers at St Nicholas Youth Centre on Thursday.
Council staff were stationed at the venue to take the details of affected residents and signpost them to housing support, but they could not answer the question most asked: “When will I be able to go back home?”
Ms Bourg bought her Victorian terrace home in 2017 and said she was not informed of any concerns about the stability of the land. But after the sinkholes emerged she has been left wondering if she, too, is on shaky ground.
She said: “We’re built over Godstone caves which have been there for I don’t know how many hundreds of years. They used to mine them and now people go down them.
“There are caves underneath the houses so you just wonder what the integrity of the whole thing is. Apparently they’re safe but who knows?”
Locals speak fondly of the network of caves that Scouts and other explorers are known to venture into. It is where one property on the corner of the high street gets its name – The Caves.
Ms Bourg has wondered if the value of her home could decrease because of the sinkhole.
“I was just talking to my neighbours and they were saying they’re concerned about the impact it might have on insurance.
“Obviously it could affect the sale price if people don’t want to live too near a place that’s just had a massive sinkhole,” she said.
Harvey, who only wanted to give his first name, said he has lived in his Godstone home, located around 200m from the sinkholes, for 15 years and does not recall any issues with the stability of the land being identified in the survey when he bought the property.
He is not worried about it getting sucked into a sinkhole but he has considered how the discovery could affect the value of his home when he is ready to sell.
“Whether this affects when you want to sell your house down the line, whether suddenly another hole appears and people can’t get mortgages and everyone’s in a bad situation, that’s my biggest concern.”
Surrey County Council said six households outside of the immediate area of the sinkhole have been allowed to return and assessments are ongoing to confirm if the sinkholes have stabilised.
A spokesperson for Riverdale Developments, the developers behind the William Way homes, said: “We are aware of the situation on Godstone High Street near the homes we completed in 2020, and our thoughts are with all those affected.
“While we are not the current freeholder, we have proactively reached out to the managing agent to offer our support in reassuring residents.
“Extensive ground investigations were carried out prior to commencement and the development is on piled foundations to suit the ground conditions and was overseen by approved contractors in accordance with NHBC standards.”
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