Another pothole opens up on Elm Grove Lane in Norwich

It is the latest hole to open up in Elm Grove Lane in north Norwich, which has been hit with a string of subsidence issues.

County councillor Steve Morphew said Norfolk County Council and Anglian Water have been at loggerheads over who is responsible for the hole - and urged them to get on with fixing it.

Elm Grove Lane resident Jo Hiller and Norfolk county councillor Steve Morphew with the latest pothole to open up in the Norwich street (Image: Steve Morphew)

Mr Morphew, who represents Catton Grove and leads the Labour group at County Hall, said: "If it is a matter of a danger to the public, highways need to step in and fill the hole and make Anglian Water pay for the work.

"It's getting worse and worse. There's no doubt more will collapse soon.

"We certainly can't have dangerous holes being left while big organisations indulge in arguments. If somebody gets hurt they will share the blame for dithering."

READ MORE: Norfolk potholes trigger county council compensation payouts

The Elm Grove Lane pothole pictured on April 8. It has since got bigger (Image: Steve Morphew)

Jo Hiller, who was compensated by Anglian Water in 2016 after a burst water main caused subsidence to her driveway, reported the latest problem on the footpath in March.

A fence has been put around the hole, but material is still crumbling away.

It comes after another hole appeared in the street's surface in 2021.

The 2021 hole which opened up in Elm Grove Lane in Norwich (Image: Simon Parkin)

A Norfolk County Council spokesperson said: "We are aware of the situation in Elm Grove Lane, and have been working with Anglian Water to resolve the issue.

"We would like to reassure the public that our partners at Anglian Water are confident the area remains safe.

"A team from Norfolk County Council or from our partners at Anglian Water will be visiting the site to carry out work shortly."

READ MORE: Norfolk pothole in Reepham took 482 days to repair

But an Anglian Water spokesperson said they were "confident" the pothole was not their responsibility.

She said: "Our teams carried out CCTV surveys on Elm Grove Lane a couple of weeks ago to make sure all our assets were working as they should be, along with a highways engineer.

"We found the foul and surface water systems were both clear and that there were no clean drinking water issues in the area.

"We did also carry out some precautionary cleaning to prevent any future blockages in the surface water system."