Prom's £100k sinkhole repair attracting tourists

Work has started to repair a promenade on the Norfolk coast after a sinkhole appeared and revealed a large void beneath.

Emergency repairs to the front in Hunstanton will cost about £100,000, said the Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk.

The cavity will be sealed and filled with concrete and the work means a 140m (459ft) stretch, and part of the beach, will be closed for at least two weeks.

Sandra Squire, the councillor responsible for coastal issues in West Norfolk, said the work was not putting visitors off and was actually "quite a tourist attraction".

Squire said the good weather made it easier for the repairs to take place.

"You can use the majority of the prom and you can walk around the closed section - we're still getting a lot of visitors," she said.

Hunstanton's promenade dates back to the 1920s and materials in construction, including bottles and pottery, have been found on the beach exposed by the undercutting of the sea.

"The hole's turned into quite a tourist attraction with people on the beach wanting to see what they can pick up," said Squire.

"You think people are going to be upset they can't use the prom but they'll be on the beach rummaging to see what they can find so it's great from that point of view."

Its appeal is another example of engineering works becoming unlikely visitor attractions following the interest in the demolition of the Anglia Square shopping centre in Norwich.

The council's environmental health manager Dave Robson said the final repair bill would depend on how much concrete was needed.

The first job was to shore up the sea wall so concrete poured into the hole cannot run out into the sea, he said.

"The contractors say they've had loads of people coming up asking what's happening," he said.

"We hope to have the prom open for people to walk along ready for Easter."

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