A road in Salford is slowly sinking into the sewage system beneath it, but no one will take responsibility for the repairs.
A sinkhole opened up at the end of Dunmail Close, Walkden, 15 months ago, with residents celebrating its one-year birthday in May this year. A stand-off between different organisations involved, who all claim the repairs are not their responsibility, has left residents feeling frustrated and hopeless as the sinkhole gradually deepens.
Residents fear collapse
“It’s just a matter of time before it collapses, then we’ll have a much bigger issue on our hands,” said Lisa Kean, 52, a marketing director who has lived on the Dunmail Close cul-de-sac for five years. She and her neighbours are the worst-hit by the sinkhole, which is located in the middle of the only entrance to their road.
Mrs Kean said the months-long problem has been a ‘source of pain’ for the whole street. “It doesn’t feel safe,” she said. “It’s a quiet road where kids come out and play. What if it caves in under a vehicle or a person? It feels like nothing will change until something terrible happens.”
Blame game over ownership
The surrounding housing estate was built around a decade ago by Bloor Homes on a site owned by Peel Land. While the road has been adopted as a public highway by Salford Council, the local authority says it cannot conduct repairs on the underlying sewage system.
These are supplied with water by United Utilities, but the water firm claims the actual waste water system was never signed over to them, and so is still under the care of Bloor or Peel.
This circular finger-pointing has led to local MP Yasmin Qureshi getting involved, who slammed the organisations for ‘dangerous inaction’ after trying to hold a meeting with all parties involved.
“It is deeply frustrating that more than a year after this sinkhole first appeared, residents are still waiting for a solution,” Ms Qureshi said. “The organisations involved must now work together to bring this matter to a conclusion. Residents have waited long enough.”
Residents demand action
Neighbour Dhamesh Lad described the situation as ‘pathetic’. The 40-year-old software engineer and dad has lived in his home for 10 years, and was one of the first to report the issue in May 2025.
“It’s been over a year since we first reported it - and it started off as just a crack, now it’s a massive hole,” he said. “It’s an annoyance and it’s dangerous.
“We’ve been told the repairs would cost £20,000. That’s peanuts for big organisations like Peel, Bloor, and United Utilities. But it’s a lot of money for us residents. Yet they were originally suggesting we should pay for it ourselves. That’s not fair at all.”
The residents on Dunmail Close have also reportedly been told to appeal to the NHBC newbuild insurance to cover the costs, but Mrs Kean argued this would set a ‘dangerous precedent’.
“We can’t be having situations where homeowners in new developments are made responsible for infrastructure problems that aren’t their fault,” she said. “So I’m refusing to do that.”
But another Dunmail Close resident, Phil, felt the situation was verging on hopeless. He said: “We’re small fry to big organisations like Peel and the others. They have a lot of sway and influence, we’re just ants,” he said. “They’re not going to do anything about it unless someone gets seriously hurt.”
Organisations respond
A United Utilities spokesperson said: “The collapsed surface water sewer on this estate remains under private ownership and is not part of our network. We have offered our support to residents on the next steps available to them.”
A spokesperson from Bloor Homes said: “We are very sorry to learn of the issues presented to local residents. Whilst Bloor Homes does not have a contractual liability to repair the sinkhole, we remain committed to working with Salford City Council, United Utilities and Peel Holdings to establish a solution for residents and encourage engagement from all parties.”
Peel said they could not provide a statement at this time.
A spokesperson for Salford City Council previously said: “Investigations established that the underlying problem relates to a collapsed sewer serving a small number of properties. The Council does not own or maintain private sewer infrastructure and officers have continued to support affected residents, actively engaging with United Utilities, the developer and other relevant parties to secure a permanent solution. Public safety remains our priority, and we continue to monitor the location to ensure any immediate risks are managed.”
