Reported and Recorded Sinkholes on Roads

I am seeking information about reported and recorded sinkholes on roads. This is a definition of a sinkhole: "A sinkhole is a type of void that has no natural external surface drainage. Basically, this means that when it rains, all of the water stays inside the sinkhole and typically drains into the subsurface over time dissolving the rocks beneath. This creates underground spaces and caverns."



My request: for the time period January 2020 to June 30th 2025, please provide the following:



1) The total number of sinkholes reported by the public each year in your region

2) The total number of sinkholes officially recorded each year in your region

3) A list of the officially recorded sinkholes in your region, with these details:

a) Date sinkhole was reported (if reported by a member of the public)

b) Date sinkhole was officially recorded

c) Location of sinkhole (road or street name)

d) Depth (metres) - this can be approximate

e) Width (metres) - this can be approximate

f) What was the cost of the repair of the road due to this sinkhole?

g) What date was the repair completed?

h) Was the road closed due to this sinkhole (Y/N)?

i) What date was the road closed due to this sinkhole?

j) If the road closed, what date did the road reopen?

This response does not necessarily include sinkholes that match the above description, but includes all data where "sink hole" has been mentioned within either the initial report received or a work instruction issued.

1. The data provided relates to the number of enquiries received where the reporter has included the word "sink" in the description. This doesn't necessarily mean that the issue reported was confirmed as a sinkhole, or that it matches the definition provided.

The data provided relates to the number of work instructions that have been issued with "sink" in the description. This doesn't necessarily mean that the defect was confirmed as a sinkhole, or that it matches the definition provided.

3. Please see the attached spreadsheet.

a. See column " enquiry_time" field in the attached enquiry report.

b. See column “order_commit_date” in the attached job (work order) report.

c. Please see details in the attached job (work order) report.

d. This is not recorded in the details on the job. It would require an assessment of the costs for each job to establish this. This would take significant work to establish.

Section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information 2000 does not oblige a public authority
to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of
complying with the request would exceed the appropriate limit. The appropriate
limit is currently £450 or 18 hours at a cost of £25 per hour.
The exemption under section 12 is not subject to the public interest test
Any refined request will be treated as a new request under the Freedom of
Information Act.

e. This is not recorded in the details on the job. It would require an

assessment of the costs for each job to establish this. This would take

significant work to establish.

Section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information 2000 does not oblige a public authority
to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of
complying with the request would exceed the appropriate limit. The appropriate
limit is currently £450 or 18 hours at a cost of £25 per hour.
The exemption under section 12 is not subject to the public interest test
Any refined request will be treated as a new request under the Freedom of
Information Act.

f. This would take significant work to establish. If there is a specific site this

information is required for then that information can be provided.

Section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information 2000 does not oblige a public authority
to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of
complying with the request would exceed the appropriate limit. The appropriate
limit is currently £450 or 18 hours at a cost of £25 per hour.
The exemption under section 12 is not subject to the public interest test
Any refined request will be treated as a new request under the Freedom of
Information Act.

g. See column “actual_comp_date” in the attached job (work order) report.

h. In 59 cases a road closure was instructed.

i. See column “actual_start_date” in the attached job (work order) report

j. This is less easy to establish as the end date of the closure is generally on

a different job to the start date due to the time needed to investigate these

types of issues. If there is a specific site that this information is required

for then that information can be provided.

Section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information 2000 does not oblige a public authority
to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of
complying with the request would exceed the appropriate limit. The appropriate
limit is currently £450 or 18 hours at a cost of £25 per hour.
The exemption under section 12 is not subject to the public interest test
Any refined request will be treated as a new request under the Freedom of
Information Act.

Should you require the attachments mentioned above please contact customerinformationservice@lincolnshire.gov.uk with the below reference number and this can be provided.