Land slippage works update

Slow progress has been made to date due to having to trace live electrical cables on site and arrangements made for these to be made safe. This has delayed the whole project by a couple of months. However, other progress is outlined below:

• Regular fornightly planning meetings continue, between Forterra, the engineers and Philip Parker Associates Ltd;

• Discussions were held with the Wildlife Police and Natural England as to the appropriate ways forward, to undertake the vegetation clearance works. It was agreed that these works were to be undertaken using a method statement approach rather than wildlife licencing;

• Thorough surveys for water vole and breeding birds prior to clearance of any vegetation have taken place. Delays have been made in particular areas to allow nesting birds to complete raising young safely;

• Reptile and amphibian fencing has been erected to the west of the land slip area, to prevent animals from wandering into the working area;

• On-going monitoring of the slope movement continues;

• Water levels have been pumped down to provide a drier area on which to create the brick buttress for stabilisation.

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Forthcoming works and estimated timescales:

1. Construction of the brick buttress (8100 tonnes of bricks) at the toe of the slope to prevent any further creep. This will take 2-3 weeks following which 46,000 tonnes of clay will be used to re-profile the lower part of the slope. This will take up to another month to complete. The slope will then be left for 8 months, and monitored, to assess what further works will be required in the summer of 2025.

2. Once the engineering works are complete (in October 2024), assessment will be made as to whether it will be possible to re-open the nature reserve on a temporary basis, until the upper slope stabilisation works commence in the summer of 2025.

3. Following completion of this work, the whole slope will be hydroseeded with grass seeds collected from elsewhere on the site. This will replicate some of the open habitats that were formerly present.

4. The full re-opening of the remainder of the reserve will hopefully be from late summer 2025. Access to the area around the land slippage will still be restricted.

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