RCT Council is making good progress with an initial phase of work to stabilise the slope above the closed path at the Tylorstown Landslip site – with this activity on course to be completed by the end of October.
Alun Griffiths Ltd was appointed by the Council to carry out this additional phase of work, which started on site during late summer 2021. The work is focusing on the north-east valley mountain side, which is an historical railway cutting lying directly above the remaining closed footpath at the landslip site.
The landslip occurred on the Llanwonno hillside at Tylorstown during Storm Dennis in February 2020, when Rhondda Cynon Taf endured record rainfall and suffered its most severe flooding since the 1970s. The landslip, consisting of 60,000 cubic metres of spoil material, blocked the river valley, damaged a foul sewer, covered a strategic water main and covered a footpath/cycle path.
In June 2021, the Council’s contractor Walters Ltd completed Phases Two and Three of the agreed Remediation Plan – which has included embankment scour repairs, moving the spoil material from the valley floor to receptor sites, and the temporary reopening of two of the three shared paths through the site.
The stabilisation work currently ongoing is in addition to Phase Three. The landslide led to flows of water creating deep scour lines, damaging revetment walls and depositing debris across the footpath when it rains. Catch ditches were installed to reduce this occurrence last winter.
The current site activity includes installation of a netting system across the worst-affected areas, repairing and stabilising deep scour lines, repairing the damaged revetment walls and installing cascades to direct water flows into the drainage system – which will help prevent future scouring. The work is on course to be completed by the end of the month, as scheduled.
Councillor Andrew Morgan, Leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council and Cabinet Member with responsibility for Highways and Transportation, said: “Work is progressing to complete initial repairs to the slope above the one remaining closed footpath through the Tylorstown Landslip site, following the completion of Phases Two and Three of the Remediation Plan in early summer. Current site activity includes a series of initial repairs to the mountain face, being carried out ahead of Phase Four.
“The Council is also in the process of preparing the information required for a Pre Application Consultation with members of the public. This engagement exercise will inform the future planning application for Phase Four – which will include remediation of the remaining tip on the hillside. There will also be a planning application for the permanent uses of the landslip material removed from the river channel.”
Further details on how to take part in the consultation will be communicated to residents in due course, with all works towards Phase Four likely to take place in 2022 – subject to the Council acquiring the relevant formal permissions.
