Road shut off as sinkhole suddenly opens up near primary school and tram stop

Whittaker Lane is Prestwich has been shut off

A sinkhole which opened up close to a school will cause a busy road to be closed for the the next week.

The crater, created by workers investigating ‘a dip in the road’ on Whittaker Lane in Prestwich, appears to be around six foot square and underground pipe-works can clearly be seen from the nearby pavement.

On Thursday afternoon (April 24) contractors were working on the site, which is close to St Hilda’s CoE primary school and Heaton Park tram stop.

The road, which runs between Bury Old Road and Bury New Road is a well used local link route.

It is currently closed in both directions. One resident, who lives on an adjoining street, said on Thursday: “It seems to have opened up earlier today and contractors were quickly here.

“It’s on a bus route and near the school. the doctors, church and a row of shops. So it will cause a great deal of disruption.”

The hole is at the junction of Ogden Street, close to the Royal Oak pub.

A Bury Council spokesperson said: “Whittaker Lane was closed off yesterday to allow further investigation and excavation works to take place to identify the problem causing a dip in the road.

“These investigations found that the sewer beneath the road had become displaced, causing it to leak and wash away the foundation to the road. United Utilities will now carry out their own investigations and all necessary repairs.

“The road will remain closed while essential work is carried out.

"We currently anticipate that the road will re-open by May 1 and we will provide a further update on our social media pages when this timescale is confirmed.

“In the meantime, motorists should allow more time to travel and follow the diversion via Bury Old Road/Scholes Lane/Heywood Road and vice versa.”

Whittaker Lane and the nearby area has a history of recent sinkhole incidents.

In July 2023. Also on Whittaker Lane, work was needed near Egerton Street and barriers were set up to fence off the area.

Also in 2023, another sinkhole materialised in nearby Heywood Road and a similar hole opened up on the same road in October 2016.

In August 2021, a similar road failure caused the closure of the Heywood Road-Bury New Road junction for two days.