Purpose

Head of Service is asked to approve a decision
by Capital Board to allocate funding for the repair of Ramsclough
Retaining Wall.

The date of the approval was 15/08/2025
The report was submitted by Paul Binks, Highway Asset
Manager.

A landslip occurred along the B6236 Haslingden Old Road following
heavy rain at the start of the New Year, which saw a number of
flooding incidents across the county. The landslip caused a wall
supporting the road and one lane of the carriageway to
collapse.

The road has been closed ever since, with temporary diversion
routes in place, as it is not safe for vehicles to continue using
the remaining carriageway, even under traffic control.
£1m was approved in the 25/26 Capital New Starts Highway
Maintenance Programme, approved by Cabinet in March'25, for site
clearance and preparatory works.

It was intended to undertake a procurement exercise and for the
reinstatement works to start in 26/27 with approval being sought
from Cabinet in March'26. Due to the strategic nature of the road,
environmental considerations and reputational issue if the road is
not reinstated in a timely manner it is proposed to bring forwards
the works to January\February 26.

Amount requested from the 26/27 programme £2m.

If this project is overspent, funding will be made available
through reconciliation of underspends from completed
projects.

If the highway surface is not replaced then we will be in breach of
our statutory duties to maintain the highway and would carry on
incurring traffic management costs and costs in monitoring a
dangerous structure.

Content

Kirstie Williams, Interim Head of Service,
Highways Operations and Design, on behalf of Matt Townsends,
Director of Highways and Transport, took the decision to allocate funding for the repair of Ramsclough Retaining Wall.