Sheffield Independent – Saturday 26 February 1938

Rates Rise As Land Subsides

The proposed new clause to the Coal Bill, to enable local authorities to inspect land liable to subsidence, is of particular interest to authorities in the Don, Dearne and Rother Valleys, who have experienced considerable difficulty owing to subsidence for a number of years. The statement by Mr. E, Dunn. Labour Member for Rother Valley, that the valley had sunk a foot year within the last 15 years, does not perhaps apply to its fullest extent at the Swinton end of his constituency, but subsidence had occasioned serious trouble.

The maintenance charges tor water mains and sewers are considerably higher at a result of breakages caused by subsidence in one part of the line, and the maintenance the level on another.

The same applies to houses, where subsidence occurs probably at one end of a block, and large cracks appear in the walls, or doors fail to fit. The trouble has been particularly evident in the Station street neighbourhood of Swinton, generally in privately-owned property.

Cause of Flooding

Flooding in the region Messrs. Baker and Bessemer’s works at Kilnhurst is attributed to the same cause. Here the canal has maintained its former level because pillars of coal have been left unworked underneath it, through the acquisition of the mineral rights, but on the other side the ground has fallen below the level of the main waterway.

Streams cannot disperse their contents, and the whole area becomes flooded after any appreciable rainfall.

Although damage has not been occasioned to Council houses to any alarming extent, the Swinton Urban authority has taken the precaution in its most recent scheme of building 300 houses, to install re-inforced concrete foundation for each block.

Recently at Wath upon Dearne, where there is a shortage of housing sites, the Council had to turn down one otherwise ideal plot of land following report of the danger of subsidence and consequent damage to the property.

Damage at Mexborough

At Mexborough several buildings have suffered. A few months ago considerable repairs had to be carried out both the Montagu Hospital and the secondary school when large cracks appeared in the walls. Both of these premises are in the Adwick road district.

Singularly enough this higher part of Mexborough has been most seriously affected by subsidence, and the lower part, near the canal, has given little or no trouble.

The Adwick road elementary school has also sunk in parts, and it is noticeable along this area that certain buildings have “slid ’’ along the damp course, sometimes to the extent of inches, which means a considerable damage to various parts of the properly.

In this neighbourhood, too, maintenance charges for sewers and water mains are exceptionally heavy owing to frequent breakages. One sewer has been completely relaid recently.19