AN MP claims there is "no plan" in place to repair a landslip-hit road, more than two months after the damage forced its closure.
West Worcestershire MP Dame Harriett Baldwin claims Worcestershire County Council has written to her criticising her for visiting the site of the damage on the B4204 at Rochford this month and confirming that there is no plan to repair the road.
Worcestershire County Council was asked to comment on this, but was unable to before publication.
Telecommunications company Openreach has pledged to move a telegraph pole, which is at risk of collapse, to preserve the local internet connections, she said.
The MP has now repeated her call for urgent action to fix a collapsed road which is forcing local people to make huge diversions to get to and from work.
The road collapsed at the beginning of February but Dame Harriett said local people had contacted her to complain that they had seen no one from the county council and no action in over eight weeks.
The MP has now contacted the interim county councillor responsible for the repairs urging him to visit the site, to talk to local people and put in place an urgent plan for repairs and to re-open the road.
Dame Harriett said: “Residents are clearly frustrated by the lack of visible action and instead the council seem to be focused on hardening the road closure measures rather than putting a repair plan in place.
“Local people continue contact to me to share their anger at the lack of a plan or any communications and I’ve been passing their feedback onto the council’s chief executive.
“Sadly the Reform council leadership seems to be in a state of flux but while they are re-arranging the Cabinet, the people of Rochford and the Teme Valley care more about getting the issue fixed.”
A spokesperson for Worcestershire County Council said: “The landslip is still active with ground movement taking place, all of which is out of our control. For this reason, barriers, fencing and traffic management measures remain in place to prevent access and to keep people safe.
Council officers and specialist geotechnical engineers have recently met to assess the situation and determine the safest and most appropriate way forward. Due to the complexity and scale of the issue, a repair would require a carefully designed, engineered solution to ensure the long-term stability of the road and surrounding land. Causeway One Network provides a date for expiry of the permit of March 2027, demonstrating that this is not a situation where a quick or temporary fix would be safe; this will be reviewed.
Whilst we fully recognise the significant disruption this closure is causing to residents and road users, safety must remain our absolute priority.
We are reviewing how information about the ongoing closure and works is being communicated and are committed to providing more consistent updates as work progresses.”
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