MORE than 100 people protested next to a road closed due to a suspected mine shaft in Troon on Saturday afternoon (May 30), chanting for Cornwall Council to “fill our hole”.

Residents of the village near Camborne believe the council isn’t acting quickly enough to fill the hole which appeared on Newton Road last Monday night. They fear months of long diversions just two weeks after a road in nearby Beacon reopened following six months of “absolute chaos”.

Newton Road is currently completely fenced off between Newton Moor and Grenville Gardens, with signs warning “Danger - deep excavation”.

A Cornwall Council spokesperson said: “It’s likely this is linked to historic mining activity, but we need carry out further detailed investigations to confirm the cause and inform an appropriate remedial design.

“We appreciate the road closure has and will cause inconvenience and frustration. However, safety is our priority.”

An initial six-month road closure, until November 27, has been imposed while investigations take place.

The hole’s appearance comes just a couple of weeks after nearby Pendarves Street in Beacon reopened following six months’ work to repair a hole caused by a collapsed 40ft mineshaft. The work was delayed due to a dispute between Cornwall Council and South West Water.

Rachel Goodman, of Troon Residents’ Action Group, said: “The residents have just endured six months of road closures in Beacon through a mining feature that created absolute chaos on the four routes that were alternatives at that point.

“That road reopened on May 12. We’ve enjoyed two weeks of being able to use the road through Beacon and now this one has opened up with yet another mining feature, which is potentially going to result in another six month-closure.

“In that time, residents are going to be choosing between two routes out of Troon – one through Four Lanes with a seven-mile diversion, and one through Treslothan which is not suitable for anything other than a car.

“This road needs to be fixed very quickly to release the residents of Troon. There are over 900 properties in the village – this is affecting a huge amount of the population and [the council] needs to act.”

Ms Goodman suggested the council could open an old service road out of Troon and put traffic lights on either end to “let the people get in and out of this village in an orderly fashion” while work is being carried out.

One of four Camborne town councillors present at the protest, David Atherfold said a mine shaft which opened in a local garden in 2019 took 18 months to fill, which he described as “a damning indictment” of the priorities of Cornwall Council’s highways company Cormac.

A geotechnical team from Cornwall Council is due to investigate the hole’s appearance today (Monday, June 1) to ascertain which utilities, if any, are affected, leading to a clearer view on on how long the repair work will take and if the road will need to be closed until the end of November.