THE repairs to the collapsed mine shaft in Kirktoun Gardens, Ballingry, will be completed over the next few weeks.

It all started to happen in Benarty last autumn after the Coal Authority was notified, via its 24 hour hazard helpline, by the resident at 9 Kirktoun Gardens, of the ground collapse in her garden.

It was discovered that the collapse had occurred because of an 100 year plus old shaft outside the house which had fallen in.

The Coal Authority managed to stop the problem getting any worse and began a programme of assessing the damage and then consolidating the ground.

On Monday the CA will start the final stages of the reinstatement work.

Local Councillor Mary Lockhart said this week: "The ground has had to be given several months to settle and now the engineers are ready to start the final two phases of the project.

"This will involve completing filling in any gaps that there may be, repair a the sewer that was damaged when the collapse happened, and putting a permanent cap on the repair.

"The first phase of the work will last two to three weeks and phase two will take three to four weeks, but there should be no road closures due to the work."

Councillor Lockhart met with the Coal Authority people on Tuesday afternoon.

She added: "There may be a problem with parking in Kirktoun Gardens during some of the work.

"The project has taken some time but that is the nature of it when you get an old mine collapsing, however, within a few weeks things will be complete."

Councillor Lockhart will keep people updated on her Facebook Page and on Benarty Matters.

When the hole first appeared in the garden there was real concern that the whole garden could disappear but the swift intervention of the Coal Authority ensured that things were tackled before they could deteriorate further.