'Urgent investigation' into sinkhole - council

A sinkhole which has opened up in a major road in York city centre will need "urgent investigation and attention", a council has said.

The void opened on St Leonard's Place, near York Theatre Royal, on Wednesday, and its cause was currently "not known", according to City of York Council.

While it had since been made safe, repairs would mean traffic disruption for the next two weeks, with work due to start at 06:00 BST on Thursday, a spokesperson said.

"The theatre is open as usual and pedestrian access to both the theatre and neighbouring businesses is unaffected", they added.

The spokesperson said that once teams had been able to safely access the site, "we will have a much better understanding of the causes and how we can quickly and safely repair the hole and road surface".

"As usual, the site will be assessed for any archaeological remains once excavation starts," they said.

The road where the sinkhole opened up is a major route through the centre of York, leading from Gillygate to Lendal Bridge, near York Station.

The repair work would see the portion of St Leonard's Place from the Theatre Royal to the Red House antiques centre become one lane only from early on Thursday, the council spokesperson said.

Traffic lights would be installed and bus stops would be moved for the next two weeks.

Buses would be able to use the road as usual, but the stops outside and opposite the theatre would have to be temporarily moved to a night-time taxi rank nearby, with the rank suspended, they added.

Kate Ravilious, the council's member for transport, said the "unavoidable emergency works" to fix the void came at "a busy time" for York's roads.

A closure on Queen Street - on the other side of the city's ring road - was already due to take place at the weekend, she said, and urged people to instead use public transport, walk or cycle.

Several park and ride routes which did not use St Leonard's Place made "excellent alternatives" to driving into the city, she said.

"York is very much open for business and we encourage everyone to plan ahead, use public transport, walk or cycle where possible, to help reduce traffic congestion in the city centre," Ravilious added.

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