Latest news with #landslip
BBC News
5 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Seaton Hole: Major cliff protection work brought forward
A massive cliff protection scheme is likely to go ahead this year after a council agreed to bring forward Hole on the south coast has suffered repeated major landslips that have left beach users and coastal homes in Devon District Council said 7,000 tonnes of rock must be delivered by sea to Seaton by September to be able to press ahead with the project before prices go council's cabinet recommended an upfront investment of £673,500 this year to enable the £2.2m scheme to go ahead with a final decision due to be made by full council on 18 June. The council said the decision was "critical to help reduce delays and cost increases".Geoff Jung, cabinet member for environment at East Devon District Council, said: "Approval from council will allow us to push ahead and order the new rock to ensure best value for money now, as delays may result in higher costs being incurred next year."The project included increasing the volume of existing rock armour at the base of the cliffs, upgrading the steel baskets used to hold rocks in place and maintaining the current total cost is expected to be £2.2m and has already been approved by the Environment council said it was confident planning permission would be granted, as no major issues were raised during the pre-application report said there was a "small risk" of not getting planning permission but "in the worst-case scenario" that would result in the council having rock armour for future schemes.
BBC News
14-05-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
A82 landslip risk to be lowered through native tree planting
A project to lower the risk of landslips on the A82 by planting trees on the slopes above it has road along the shores of Loch Ness has been closed in the past due to and Land Scotland (FLS) has started work to establish a new native aim is to strengthen hillsides against the impacts of wind and rain and make the A82 safer for road users. The first stage of the project was recently completed, with 5,000 trees planted in high density pockets on sections of cleared slopes near some of them 100 years old, are being felled as part of the project because they are at risk of being blown over, or collapsing due to erosion.A mixture of blackthorn, hawthorn, hazel, birch, cherry and oak are being planted in their north region assistant operations manager, Luke Wilson, said: "It will make the landscape – including the A82 and the infrastructure that runs alongside it – more resilient to extreme weather events that we may be seeing more of in the years to come."
RNZ News
10-05-2025
- Climate
- RNZ News
State of emergency in Banks Peninsula extended due to Akaroa land slip
Cracks on Lighthouse Road led to four homes being evacuated last week. Photo: Christchurch City Council The state of emergency on storm-hit Banks Peninsula will remain in place for at least another day, while the Christchurch City Council monitors a land slip in Akaroa. The council said the land was still rain saturated, with the potential for further slips. A resident living on a farm above the Lighthouse Road slip, Charlotte Oborne, told RNZ her family had been cut off for more than a week, with the only route to town left impassable. "I'm hoping they'll give us some information on Monday, rather than saying we'll have to wait longer, because we've got to... come up with a bit of a plan, if we know on the farm that we're not going to be able to use that route." Her main concern was the lack of a clear timeframe for reopening the road. The slip saw four homes evacuated as a precaution last week. The state of emergency will be reassessed tomorrow. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
BBC News
07-05-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
West Midlands housing estates plagued with constant problems
New build estates plagued with constant problems 13 minutes ago Share Save Chris Steers BBC Midlands Today Share Save BBC Some residents at Haden Cross have been unable to reach their homes by car since a landslip before Christmas When Reece Aleksander moved into a new-build housing estate in the West Midlands five years ago he thought he had bought his dream home. However, he said it had become a nightmare. A landslip before Christmas has blocked access to his and some other residents' homes ever since. But Haden Cross Drive in Cradley Heath also features street lights that have never worked and sewers that still have not been taken on by the water company. Developer Dunedin Homes said the landslip was not a "simple, quick or easy fix", but that it was working on a temporary measure. It added that much of the work on street lights had been completed and that sewers would be adopted "in due course". Sandwell Council said it had issued a notice requiring the privately owned road to be opened up by the end of September, adding that it hoped enforcement action would not be necessary. Reece Aleksander said he was concerned the landslip could reach his front door The landslip at Christmas saw soil and clay spill across the road and on to Mr Aleksander's drive. However, residents said subsidence in Haden Cross Drive first became evident in January 2024 when a tree fell in nearby woods. The land has shifted several times since then, with one small night-time slip caught on a camera set up by Mr Aleksander. "It definitely woke me up, shocked isn't even the word," he said. "They haven't given us a timeline, they haven't given us any reassurance that it's going to be fixed. "All we've had is a letter through the door saying there will be a temporary fix." In a letter sent to residents on 16 April, seen by the BBC, the firm said engineers had devised a temporary solution that would allow the road to be cleared of debris, but it was currently "unable to provide definitive timescales". The camera captured the moment a small landslip happened in the middle of the night Sewers at Haden Cross have yet to be adopted by Severn Trent Water, at which point their responsibility passes to the water supplier, and the developer footed a bill when they became blocked soon after homes were sold. Fellow resident Irene Taylor bought her home at Haden Cross at the same time as Mr Aleksander, and said she had yet to receive a water bill since moving in. She added that there had been long-term problems with sewers in the area. Dunedin, however, said it was "not aware of any current issues with the sewers" and that a report commissioned as part of the adoption process showed it was "operating as expected". Irene Taylor said she had not received a water bill in the five years she had lived at Haden Cross But Haden Cross is not the only estate built by Redditch-based firm Dunedin to have problems with sewers and street lights. At St Dominic's Place, in the Hartshill area of Stoke-on-Trent, residents have come up with their own novel solution to the lack of lighting over the past six years. They have attached solar-charged, battery-powered lights, similar to those found in gardens, to the metal poles in a bid to make the area safer at night. which is responsible for connecting up the street lights, said it only received an enquiry from Dunedin for that work on 28 February and final paperwork was submitted on 10 April. National Grid said it was not its responsibility to connect up those street lights, but noted that they had not been part of the original application by Dunedin in 2018. Residents Sewage covered the bank behind homes, Mr Canavan said Dan Canavan and his family moved into their new build on the street in 2019. "We had a big problem last year with a collapsed drain on a street up from us and it was causing backfill issues on our estate," he said. "Severn Trent wouldn't accept that we were on their system - we had to all pay together I think £700 to have 13,000 gallons removed from the system. "We had raw sewage running down the fields behind us as a result of it." Stoke-on-Trent City Council successfully took Dunedin Homes to court last year and the firm was forced to pay £4,000 in fines, costs and a surcharge, the maximum available at the time, for a breach of planning permission. Severn Trent said it had inspected the sewers on 14 March and found that all "remedial works" had been completed as requested and that it would adopt them when "one outstanding point" was addressed by the developers. Dan Canavan said residents had to club together and pay for the sewerage system to be pumped out as it had not been adopted A third council in the West Midlands has also taken action against Dunedin Homes. Walsall Council issued an enforcement notice after a Labour club knocked down as part of a development at Unity Drive in Pelsall was not rebuilt in the timeframe outlined in the planning conditions. Demolished in 2015, it was meant to have been replaced within 10 months. It is now completed. A final inspection was carried out in December 2024, and it is due to be signed off by the local authority, the developer said. However, in the past 10 years the club has closed, according to the Financial Conduct Authority, and one resident told the BBC that the site had become a magnet for anti-social behaviour and vandals. Dunedin has disputed that, saying that it employed a maintenance firm to collect litter, cut grass and keep an eye on the site every two weeks. Steve Lowbridge said Pelsall Labour club had been misled Steve Lowbridge was a member of the club when the developer was looking to build 24 homes at Unity Drive. "The directors of Dunedin Homes did a presentation back in 2014. The club had been struggling for some time and they said they would knock down the old club and build a more suitable premises - what processed was exactly the opposite," he said. "The club was misled from day one, the council blamed the developer, the developer blamed the council. "My personal opinion the main culprit in all this is Dunedin Homes." Dunedin said the club was on the verge of bankruptcy and the building was in a poor state of repair before it was demolished. It said it had settled many of its debts and legal costs, "which literally saved the club". Janine Jeffery, who is listed as the club secretary, told the BBC that the project to bring the new building into use was in its "final development stages, with significant progress being made". This view, captured by a drone, shows the extent of the landslip at Haden Cross, blocking the road In a lengthy response, Dunedin said regarding the landslip at Cradley Heath there were "a number of extremely complex geotechnical factors to take account of". "We have sought to update the residents at each key juncture of our remedial plans," it said. "We are continuing to liaise with our solicitors and engineers to identify and implement a permanent remedial solution at the soonest opportunity." It said the street lights there and at Hartshill were "fully ducted" and "awaiting energising". At Hartshill, it said it was liaising with about connecting those up. In Cradley Heath, Dunedin said the process of connecting street lights had been affected by one of them being "directly in front of the retaining wall that has failed" during the landslip. However, the firm failed to address the key issue raised by residents at both estates about the length of time in connecting those up, after many moved in five years ago. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
