A PARTY shop owner has said she does not know what will happen next after a sinkhole opened beneath the building at the weekend.

The a huge sink hole emerged under The Frog Orange Party Shop in Jericho on Sunday. The hole opens into the basement of the building which is owned by St John’s College.

The fire service and police responded to the incident and closed the entrance to Saint Bernard’s Road.

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Party shop owner Becky Lee-Allen is the current tenant of the building, but said she had not been contacted by the college about the structural damage or the college’s next steps.

She also does not know if she will still be charged rent for the collapsing building, even though she closed the shop last month.

Ms Lee-Allen was not in the building on Sunday morning when the sink hole emerged because the Jericho shop closed last Saturday after the business struggled to survive during the pandemic.

Oxford Mail:

The college is yet to contact Ms Lee-Allen, but has appointed a contractor and a structural engineer.

In a statement it said: “St John’s College is aware of the damage that has occurred to the retail property in Jericho that the college owns.

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"We were very concerned to see this and as a result, college staff and our Master of Works, who oversees college buildings and maintenance, were at the property on Sunday morning and in contact with and liaising with the emergency services. The college also arranged to secure the site with fencing for safety reasons.

"With Savills, our estate management company, we are investigating this as a matter of urgency. Our absolute priority is the safety of the neighbouring residents and people in the local area. As of Monday morning, a contractor has been appointed to attend with a structural engineer."