Works to repair a growing sinkhole at an Aberystwyth beach appear to be underway – but bystanders have expressed their concerns.
As the Cambrian News reported, fresh fears were raised about the large fissure at Tanybwlch car park expanding and becoming a ‘serious hazard’ - after a new smaller hole appeared earlier this month.
But Ceredigion County Council today appears to have responded to growing criticism over inaction and sent a workforce to deal with the problem.
Eyewitness reports and photos appear to show sandbags being stacked by the sinkhole.
But some have expressed fears that the works are only ‘patching over’ the problem rather than properly fixing it.
Resident Gareth Dowse called the Cambrian News from the car park and said: “They’ve delivered 60 bags of sand and they’re stacking it up like a wall by the sinkholes – but that’s not a cure for anything.
“But the most alarming thing about it, is there’s a four-tonne limit on the bridge crossing the river – but these are at least 15-tonne lorries with heavy bags of sand on.
“One lorry going over that bridge is way over the limit.
“The hole has been there for years. How come it has taken this long to do this work and they seem to be just patching it up.
“Everything in town now seems only to be getting patched up.
“Our jeti has got railings on it. There’s a bridge at the castle that has been sectioned off for years.
“Where’s the taxpayers money going to? Not on repairing these things.”
After closer inspection, Mr Dowse said the lorries had four axels, which could mean a total weight of up to 38 tonnes – according to the Department for Transport. He added that he was afraid for the safety of the council workers.
A nearby resident also called the Cambrian News to express similar concerns, saying ‘you won’t believe what they’re doing here!’
The Cambrian News has contacted Ceredigion County Council to respond to these claims.
The hole near the bridge that crosses the Ystwyth River onto the shore first appeared in February 2020 and was cordoned off by Ceredigion County Council.
But the hole appears to be getting larger as the weeks pass, with new holes forming around it – calling into question the safety of the surface.
Residents have been demanding the county council repair it but little or no work appears to have been done to fix the issue.