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Sinkhole in children's playground in Wooburn to be filled this year

Andrew Buckley Wooburn sinkholeAndrew Buckley
The sinkhole in Sappers Field, Wooburn, Buckinghamshire, measures 35m in depth

A large sinkhole that opened up last year in a children's playground will be filled, a parish council has announced.

The cavity in Sappers Field, Wooburn, Buckinghamshire, which measures 35m in depth, was reported to Wooburn and Bourne End Parish Council in May 2023.

Another similar sinkhole appeared in the same field at the end of February 2020.

An update was given on plans to fill in the second sinkhole at a parish council meeting on Tuesday.

Andrew Buckley The sinkhole appeared last year on the site of a children's playgroundAndrew Buckley
The site was formerly used for making bricks with clay being excavated from a deep bell pit for the manufacturing process

Buckinghamshire Council organised a survey of the second sinkhole last year and began tendering for companies to fill in the cavity, with work due to start this year.

The surveying firm, Geoterra, performed a 3D subsurface laser scan and high-definition video survey of the hole.

The results showed that it was 35m deep and the ground had fallen in a formation known as a "bell pit", according to the surveyors.

Andrew Buckley Laser scan survey of Sappers Field sinkholeAndrew Buckley
A laser scan survey of the sinkhole showed it to have a "bell pit" formation

According to Geoterra, prior to being a playing field, the site was formerly used for making bricks with clay being excavated from a deep bell pit for the manufacturing process.

When the site was decommissioned, the area was backfilled with waste. Army sappers were then brought in and covered the site with soil to create a playing field.

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