Residents frustrated as second village road closes

Residents of a Cornish village say they have "had enough" after a second road in the area has been closed due to a suspected mineshaft opening up.

Newton Road in Troon, near Camborne, has been closed since Tuesday between Newton Moor and Grenville Gardens after a hole appeared in the road and Cornwall Council put an initial six-month closure in place for investigations.

The closure follows a separate six-month closure after a mineshaft opened in nearby Pendarves Road in Beacon, which reopened two weeks ago.

A council spokesperson said the hole in Newton Road was likely linked to historic mining activity and it needed to "carry out further detailed investigations".

On Saturday, a protest by the Troon Residents' Action Group was held at the site of the mineshaft collapse.

Organisers said about 150 people turned up to voice their concerns and to call on the council to "fill that hole".

Rachel Goodman, of Troon Residents' Action Group, said the road needed to be repaired "as a matter of urgency", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

She said: "The residents have just endured six months of road closures in Beacon through a mining feature that created absolute chaos on the four routes that were alternatives at that point.

"We've enjoyed two weeks of being able to use the road through Beacon and now this one has opened up with yet another mining feature, which is potentially going to result in another six month-closure."

Goodman said the road needed to be fixed "very quickly to release the residents of Troon".

"There are more than 900 properties in the village - this is affecting a huge amount of the population and they need to act."

Goodman added: "The alternative route this time is a seven-mile diversion through Four Lanes and with the price of fuel and the cost-of-living squeeze, this is adding pressure on families who are stretched to breaking point.

"It is having an unacceptable effect on elderly residents, who need to attend doctors and hospital appointments and also for children attending schools in Camborne.

"The speed that emergency services vehicles can access the village is also being compromised."

Camborne town councillor David Atherfold said the hole had to be filled "as soon as possible as it's going to affect many people in the village".

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said it believed a geotechnical team from Cornwall Council would investigate the hole's appearance on Monday to assess if any utilities were affected.

A Cornwall Council spokesperson said: "We appreciate the road closure has and will cause inconvenience and frustration, however, safety is our priority."

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