09 March 2018
Latest Gardenstown landslip update - temporary road opening cancelled this weekend, public drop-in next week
A temporary road opening planned for Gardenstown this weekend cannot go ahead following the movement of further material on Tuesday. (March 6)_
While the council understands this will cause inconvenience, the risk posed by the unstable slope above the road is too great.
The debris left on the closed section of road following further movement of the slip on Tuesday cannot yet be completely cleared.
Assessment has shown that this cannot take place until materials above the road have been contained.
The fresh movement has exposed many new cracks at the top of the landslip, as well as displacing large rocks within the slip.
Until the area is physically contained, in the interest of safety the council cannot undertake any works to clear soil, rock and concrete blocks from the foot of the landslide.
It is currently posing a significant risk of further movement, endangering any road users, anyone working on the road and nearby houses.
The debris will only be cleared when it is safe to do so, avoiding the slippage of further material up the slope, which could potentially also prolong the situation.
Work to install netting and to build a new temporary wall to secure the landslip material will begin as soon as it is safe to do so.
This will then allow the potential for reopening the closed section of road beneath the landslip on a temporary, supervised basis.
Banff and Buchan Roads Manager, Derek Murray, said: "Clearly this is a very complex situation, but at the heart of all our decisions is safety.
"We are aware of the local desire to see the road reopen as soon as possible and we too want things to progress as quickly as possible.
"We are working with our contractor to make the working area safe to allow debris clearance and other work to take place.
"At this point we can't give a definitive date on which future road reopenings will take place, but we are working to make this happen as soon as possible.
"We will continue to provide regular updates as the operation to deal with this landslip continues."
Waste containers at Seatown, Gardenstown were last emptied on February 23 and a collection was missed due to the wintry weather.
Since the further deterioration of the landslip, access to empty communal waste containers has not been possible.
Teams are on standby to empty them at the earliest opportunity as soon as the road is reopened at all.
The site is currently clear of refuse and all waste is contained within the bins so there should be no risk of attracting vermin.
Residents who have their own bins at Seatown will have them emptied at the same time as the communal bins.
Alternative containers at Main Street should be used where possible - collections of these will be more frequent to reflect increased use.
A public drop in session is being held in Gardenstown next week in connection with the landslip.
It will be a chance to hear the latest information from the geotechnical investigation being carried out by the council's contractor over the last couple of weeks.
The investigation is due to finish on site on Thursday, March 15.
Representatives from the Banff and Buchan Area Manager's team, the roads service and the council's consulting engineers will attend.
They will provide updates on ongoing geotechnical investigations, continuing traffic management arrangements and possible design options for solutions.
The drop in session will take place at the Dreel Hall on Friday, March 16 from 9am-8pm.