Businesses start to return to building affected by sinkhole

Friday 20 December 2024

A Rouge Bouillon chiropractic clinic has been able to return to its building which was damaged and flooded earlier this week when a sinkhole opened in the road nearby.

A sinkhole caused by a burst water main at the bottom of La Pouquelaye created "significant cracks" in the Dynamic Health building on the corner of Clarendon Road.

The staff – who offer chiropractic, physiotherapy, osteopathy and sports massages from the St Helier clinic – were evacuated on Wednesday, but have since been able to return to the building, according to massage therapist Jess Bull.

Pictured: A burst water main created a sinkhole underneath the road at the bottom of La Pouquelaye. (Josh Griffiths)

However, she said that staff still have to avoid the back of the facility. 

"We've got three rooms down at the moment," explained Jess, adding that the business felt "lucky" to be able to take appointments again.

But others weren't so lucky.

Both non-surgical procedure provider The Laser Centre and skin care clinic Pennyfeathers, which operate from the same Clarendon Road building, have had to cancel appointments for the next few weeks.

In an update issued on Thursday afternoon, the Infrastructure Department said that diversions remain in place at Rouge Bouillon – though Clarendon Road is now open southbound towards town.

The sinkhole appeared by the entrance to College Gardens on Wednesday, with the Fire Service later confirming that it had been caused by a burst water main underneath the road.

Pictured: The building's basement was flooded earlier this week. (Dynamic Health)

Islanders are still being advised to only travel to the area if necessary, while building monitoring continues and Government teams assess repairs to the hole.

Parents collecting children from Janvrin school have been advised to park at Waitrose and walk via Drury Lane and College Gardens to do so, while parents collecting from d’Auvergne are asked to walk if possible, or to drive via Lower King’s Cliff (opposite The Inn).

Pictured top: The Clarendon Road building that is home to Dynamic Health was cordoned off on Wednesday. (Dynamic Health)