A sinkhole on a narrow Arnold road has been left to grow as confusion lingers over who is responsible for fixing it.
In late January, people living on Acton Road noticed damage forming in the middle of the street.
At the time, the sinkhole appeared small, but a resident says it is now “creeping further” across the road.
Nottinghamshire County Council has confirmed it visited the site on 3 February, where metal fencing was later installed around it and an orange board placed over the top.
On 26 February, the authority’s highways team dug down to investigate, where a broken pipe – believed to fall under Severn Trent’s remit – was found. The sinkhole was determined not to be an ‘immediate risk’, given a 28-day timescale, during which Severn Trent would be contacted to investigate.
A spokeswoman at Whitegates Estate and Lettings Agents in Beeston, who lives near the sinkhole in Arnold, described it as a “mine shaft”.
She said multiple residents had reported the growing pothole to the County Council, and she was informed it would be marked as “urgent”. However, she said no other work had taken place since it was fenced off.
A road defect was officially logged online for the road from 3 February, with the time frame for it being fixed extending until 10 April – which the spokeswoman says has been increased from the middle of March.
She said: “It’s a mine shaft. It’s fenced off, but it’s creeping further across the road – the fence does need moving because it’s spreading.
“If you have kids, they climb over fences. It can be moved to one side. If someone was drunk and someone left that open, they could stagger in there.”
The spokeswoman contacted Severn Trent about the sinkhole, as a pipe can be seen through the damage, but said she was told it came under the County Council’s responsibility.
She said: “I’m sick and tired; they’re still blaming each other, no one’s doing anything about anything. You’ve had our money, my council tax – stop wasting it on people and bigwigs in offices telling people what to do.
“We’ve been forgotten about because it’s on a little back street; that’s what it feels like.
“What if it’s me driving to work and I lose the front end of my car or the back wheel – who’s going to pay for that?”
A Severn Trent spokesperson said in a statement on Monday (16 March): “We visited Acton Road on 3 March 2026 to investigate reports of a broken pipe.
“Our team carried out the investigation using CCTV cameras and found there was no issue with any of the Severn Trent network. We’ll be liaising with the council to resolve the issue as soon as possible.”
The fencing has meant wider vehicles have had to mount the pavement to manoeuvre past the spot.
County Councillor John Semens (Ref), who represents Arnold North on the authority and is the deputy cabinet member for transport and environment, addressed the sinkhole.
He said: “Acton Road is not a particularly wide road… the nature of sinkholes is that they can grow, and we’ve had some particularly apocalyptic deluge, so if water has got into that, it can grow.
“I visited the road – [the sinkhole] is quite epic. If it erodes any more under the tarmac, it will get bigger and the road will be impassable.”
Cllr Semens said the sinkhole was around five to six feet deep and had witnessed a motorist picking part of their wing mirror up off the road after hitting the metal fencing with their car.
He added: “This needs fixing quickly; it’s a safety-critical issue. People are having to mount the pavement – it’s ridiculous; in no world is that acceptable.”
