Derbyshire council gives go-ahead for £2.4m repairs to major road’s supporting wall after “partial fall” near Matlock Bath

The county council approved plans for the repairs at a Cabinet meeting on September 21 for the four-mile stretch of wall along the A6 between Matlock and Whatstandwell that supports the road along the banks of the River Derwent.

Councillor Charlotte Cupit, Cabinet Member for Highways Assets and Transport, told the meeting: “We have obviously been working hard to ensure the safety of the walls between Matlock and Whatstandwell.”

Derbyshire County Council has stated that as traffic volumes and vehicle weights have increased, several parts of the retaining wall require considerable repairs and a “partial fall” of a retaining wall near Matlock Bath showed the need for repairs to ensure vehicle access.

The Department for Transport originally awarded the council £4.867m from its Highways Maintenance Challenge Fund to help undertake the maintenance of retaining walls along the A6 between Matlock and Whatstandwell.

Repairs will feature: ground anchors including netting; Wall thickening techniques such as buttresses; Reinforcement of earthworks in front of wall; Pressure grouting to fill inaccessible voids; Stonemasonry repairs including full and partial wall rebuilds; And associated drainage works.

Cllr Cupit said: “Our retaining walls are a key part of our county’s road infrastructure but remain unseen by the many thousands of people who use them.

“The significant financial award from the Levelling Up Local Highways Maintenance Challenge Fund has enabled us to look in detail at how best to carry out repairs to the walls, targeting works at those sections most in need of attention.

“The initial work we have carried out has enabled us to build up a very clear picture of the condition and construction of the walls and I’m looking forward to work starting on site next year.

“We will plan the works carefully to keep disruption to a minimum for local road-users.”

The Cabinet officially approved plans on September 21 during a meeting at County Hall to secure contracts and work for the repairs and the estimated total value of these contracts, according to council documents, will be approximately £2.4 million.

It is intended that contracts to undertake the works will be let in the autumn, with procurement completed by the winter of 2023/24, and work will hopefully be well underway by spring 2024 with the project expected to be completed by the winter of 2024/25.

In order to minimise any disruption to residents and road users, the council stated that the network availability will need to be secured so workers can carry out repair work which may need to be rearranged accordingly.

Initial preparatory works are due to start later this year including stone masonry works like grouting, replacing coping stones and general maintenance which will be carried out by the council’s inhouse construction services team.

Derbyshire County Council has revealed that an estimated 10,000 motorists benefit from the supporting walls along the affected four-mile stretch of road every day and the local authority is responsible for about 1,200 miles of retaining walls across Derbyshire.

A council spokesperson stated: “These repairs will strengthen and prolong the life of the retaining walls, reducing the risk of collapse and improving the resilience of the A6 and the highway network as a whole.”