Council commits £9m to repair of landslip damaged road near Rothbury

The B6344 was closed following a landslip near Rothbury in December 2012, and was then closed for three years as Northumberland County Council made repairs.

However, over the years the road continued to crack, resulting in constant mending. The road was closed for 10 weeks from April last year for more repairs, leading to fears of a decline in visitor numbers to Rothbury just as lockdown restrictions were lifted.

Speaking at a meeting of the council’s cabinet, council leader Glen Sanderson said the project was “hugely important” and said the council was “undertaking a massive capital expenditure” to make the road “fixed forever” rather than just “patching it up”.

The landslip started on Boxing Day 2012 and initially resulted in the closure of the road to vehicles and pedestrians, and worsened during the following winter and spring.

The council has previously said the historic problem on the B6344 is due to the “complex combination” of the underlying geology of the valley, the weak soils, water pressure within the underlying ground and erosion by the River Coquet.

Cllr John Riddle, cabinet member for local services, said: “This is a major problem and it is not a simple fix. We have had to bring in specialist advice and we believe we have a properly costed scheme which should be a long-term solution.

“It is a lot of money, but the other option is to close the road and that is not acceptable.”

A report presented to members showed that the total cost of the project is more than £9.3 million, to be funded from the Todstead Landslip budget included in the council’s medium term financial plan. It is anticipated that £2.5 million will be spent in 2022/23 and more than £6.8 million in 2023/24.

After the proposal was unanimously approved by the cabinet, the council’s interim chief executive, Rick O’Farrell, will sign a works contract for the project.