8:50AM, Fri Sep 28, 2012

Helicopter Footage: Culvert Causing Newburn Flats Collapse Could Take Four Months To Fix

By Nisha Joshi Location: Newburn

VIDEO: The devastation around Mill Vale seen from the air

A collapsed culvert that is causing a block of luxury flats to disintegrate could take four months to repair.

Helicopter footage shows how tonnes of earth have been scooped out from under Mill Vale in Newburn near Newcastle as severe rainfall gushed through the culvert, which had already burst during storms in June.

Landowners Northumberland Estates have released a statement saying it could be 2013 by the time it is fixed.

It said: "We are desperately sorry for the residents of Spencer Court and Mill Vale that this has happened yet again.

"Since the culvert collapse we have been working extremely hard to resolve what is an extremely complex engineering problem, given that the culvert lies 12 meters below ground, and the land itself is proving to be highly unstable.

"There is little we can do in the face of such very extreme weather conditions until the culvert can be cleared. We hope to achieve in the next 3 to 4 months."

Residents and businesses in Newburn have been invited to attend meetings to discuss the flooding in Spencer Court and the surrounding area.

The meeting for residents will take place at 6pm today, Thursday, 27 September, at Walbottle Campus. This will be chaired by Cllr Henri Murison, Newcastle City Council’s Cabinet Member for Quality of Life.

Businesses affected are invited to a meeting at Newburn Leisure Centre at 3pm where the city council’s Technical Director Mick Murphy will give an update on the situation.