Work on landslip road may not start until 2026

Repairs to a major landslip that closed a road in Derbyshire more than two years ago will cost £1m and are not estimated to start until summer 2026.

Derbyshire County Council closed Leashaw, in Holloway, near Matlock, in November 2022, when the road collapsed after heavy rainfall.

Last year, the council said the road would remain closed until at least the summer of 2025, but the authority has now said work will "probably" not start until the summer after.

The project will include a new retaining wall and "mini" steel piles deep into the rockface below the road to hold the route in place.

Works must take place over the summer period due to the condition of the ground, the council said.

A parish council meeting heard there was "deep frustration and anger" in the community over the continued road closure, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Councillor Charlotte Cupit, cabinet member for highways assets and transport, said: "We know the closure is frustrating for the communities it impacts, but we have had to do all the specialised and necessary ground investigations and design work so we can be sure that the final solution will work for the long term and hold the road up.

"As the work needs to take place over the summer period, again due to ground conditions, we want to be honest that it may be the summer of 2026 before works can start.

"We will try to start on site sooner and this year if possible."

The authority has reiterated a plea to the government and the East Midlands Mayor for more money to be made available for landslips like the one on Leashaw, the LDRS said.

Cupit added: "While I am committing to fix the landslip at Leashaw, I again urge both government and our regional mayor to make sure this project does not have to be financed from our wider highways budget.

"I appeal for a specific landslip grant fund for Leashaw and other landslips, such as the one above Beeley and of course Snake Pass, to qualify for regeneration investment through the recently announced mayoral grant money for major transport projects in the region."

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