We have had several enquires concerning progress to deal with the land slip on Barhatch Lane. In response to this we thought it would be helpful to publish a copy of the email received from Surrey County Council on 15 December 2016 (we will be chasing this up again soon):
“Thank you for your email, after speaking with the local engineer I can provide the following update.
We are currently working as quickly as we can with a Geotechnical engineer to formulate a remedial scheme and hope to have a solution soon.
It was previously programmed for the toe of the embankment slippage to be removed from the highway during the October half term however the Geotechnical advice received subsequently has been to not remove it as this could merely bring the entire embankment down.
A full closure is being considered which would potentially cause serious disruptions to local residents locally, as Barhatch Lane is a well-used route and a full closure could remain in place for some considerable time before this issue would be finally resolved. There have also been other closures in the area recently necessitated for works, which have required the use of Barhatch Lane. Traffic signals were considered however due to the very rural nature of the area and the lack of street lights to enable temporary traffic signals to be chained to, this option was not considered viable as the signals would be stolen very quickly, which would subsequently leave an even more dangerous situation.
Our major concern has always been that the entire embankment could slip onto the carriageway below, but in the short term when the weather gets colder, freezing of the water will cause a completely iced up carriageway. We have however been attempting to be as proactive as possible in order to expedite this problem, as our duty is to protect the highway and the highway user.
We have served notice on the owners and are currently dealing with the insurance company, the claims adjuster, and geotechnical engineers to resolve the problem ASAP. I understand that it may yet come to a full closure of the carriageway for an undetermined period.”
I use this road on my daily commute and have had several near misses with cars or lorries coming in the opposite direction who cannot see around the landslip. Going downhill it is especially hard to stop if a vehicle is coming up and both are committed. Similar replies to my emails have been received as above, and I notice this week that signs are now up saying the road will be closed ‘week commencing 6 February for emergency embankment works’. It’s now Friday and nothing has started and the road is still open – I have queried this with the council and asked how long it will be closed but no reply as yet. Not much of an emergency when this was first reported months ago after it happened..!
Road Closed signs appeared yesterday (13 Feb 2017) but no signs of any work yet.