Update re landslip at Looe.

Veronica landslip Information Leaflet

St Martins Road – Update 17th May

Cornwall Council confirms start of work on scheme to re open St Martin’s Road

Work on the first phase of the scheme to re-open St Martin’s Road in Looe will start on Monday, 20 May.

The scheme will involve installing concrete piles into the rock strata under the road at half-metre intervals along the 15 metre length adjoining the property affected by the landslip. At the same time alternate inclined rock-anchors will be used to provide additional stability, with the whole area then capped with a concrete edge beam.

The works will take between eight to ten weeks to complete, with the road then re-opened under traffic light control by the start of the main school summer holidays in July. Further works will then take place in the winter to allow the road to return to full two-way operation.

“We appreciate that the ongoing closure of St Martin’s Road is causing problems for many local residents and businesses and are committed to re opening the road as quickly as possible” said Paul Masters, the Council’s Interim Chief Executive.

Although the scale of the construction works means that there will inevitably be some impact on local residents, the Council will endeavour to keep disruption to a minimum. A site liaison officer is being assigned to the scheme to deal with queries and concerns from residents and businesses in the vicinity of the works.

A further drop in session is also being held at the Guildhall in Looe on Wednesday, 22 May from 2pm to 7pm to give local businesses the opportunity to talk about their issues and receive advice on help that may be available in the current circumstances.

Representatives from the Valuation Office Agency and Cornwall Council’s Shared Services team will be present to answer queries about Business Rates. Shared Services will also be there to give advice on the Council’s new Crisis & Care Awards.

The session will also be attended by local councillors, and representatives from the Council’s economic development and localism teams. A highways officer will also be there to explain and answer queries about the St Martin’s Road scheme. Businesses are invited to drop into the session at their convenience during the day.

Information on the works which are taking place in Looe and advice and activities for local residents and businesses are available on the Council’s website – www.cornwall.gov.uk/looelatest.

Looe Town Council
The Guildhall, Fore Street, East Looe, PL13 1AA

Telephone: 01503 262255
E:mail: looetowncouncil@ymail.com

St Martins Road – Update 14th May

Please find press release re the start of works on St Martin’s Road. A specific area on the Council’s website has been set up which will be used to provide the latest updates on the works and any other information related to Looe. This will sit on the Liskeard and Looe community network area - http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=17674

Cornwall Council finalises plans to carry out first phase of scheme to re open St Martin’s Road

Cornwall Council has drawn up plans for a scheme to stabilise the area of land affected by the landslip at St Martin’s Road in Looe and is now seeking the formal agreement of the affected property owners, the police and the Health and Safety Executive to enable work on the first phase of the project to start as quickly as possible.

If agreement can be reached by the end of this week, work on the first phase to stabilise this stretch of road using concrete piling could begin on Monday, 20 May. This is expected to take between eight to ten weeks to complete, with the road then re-opening to traffic under traffic light control before the start of the main school summer holidays in July.

Both the B3253 St Martin’s Road and the A387 Sandplace Road were originally closed to traffic following the landslip which happened after heavy rain on 22 March. Following initial investigations into the stability of the land, teams from CORMAC Solutions Ltd worked extensively to remove the old carriageway at the junction of St Martin’s Road and Sandplace Road and lay a new road surface. This enabled Sandplace Road to be re-opened to traffic before the Easter weekend on the evening of 28 March.

However concerns over the stability of St Martin’s Road and the ongoing investigation by the Health and Safety Executive into the causes of the landslip means it has not yet been possible to re-open this road to traffic.

Phase one of the scheme will involve installing concrete piles into the rock strata under the road at half-metre intervals along the 15 metre length adjoining the property affected by the landslip. At the same time alternate inclined rock-anchors will be used to provide additional stability, with the whole area then capped with a concrete edge beam.

These works, which are expected to cost between £100,000 and £150,000 to carry out, will enable the road to be re-opened under traffic light control by 19 July, with further works taking place in the winter to allow the road to return to full two-way operation.

“We appreciate that the ongoing closure of St Martin’s Road is causing problems for many local residents and businesses and are committed to re opening the road as quickly as possible” said Paul Masters, the Council’s Interim Chief Executive.

”Our engineers have been working to draw up a scheme which will enable us to partially re open the road before the main summer season gets underway. We are now waiting for the affected residents, the police and Health and Safety Executive to give us the formal go ahead to start the work. ”

Over the past few weeks the Council has been working with a range of partners to support local residents and businesses in Looe. This has included commissioning an independent survey of the stability of the land adjoining Sandplace Road on behalf of affected residents, and holding a drop in session for local businesses on provide advice and information on a range of issues, including how to apply for reductions in business rates. A further drop in session is now being planned.

The authority has also been working with VisitCornwall to promote tourism related businesses, with a series of articles in the media emphasising that Looe is open for businesses. The Council is also offering free parking for coaches in the Council owned car park during May and has arranged for further signs highlighting that access to the town is open via Sandplace Road to be placed at three key locations, including the junction of the A374 with A387, and the two A38 junctions at Horningtops and Menheniot. There will be improved signage from Widegates for local businesses and tourist facilities along the B3253 along with direction signing to Looe town centre.

Information on the works which are taking place in Looe and advice and activities for local residents and businesses are available on the Council’s website - www.cornwall.gov.uk.

Looe Town Council
The Guildhall, Fore Street, East Looe, PL13 1AA

Telephone: 01503 262255
E:mail: looetowncouncil@ymail.com