A key Midlands road will have remained closed for four years by the time essential repairs to a devastating landslip are finally completed, Derbyshire County Council has confirmed.
The authority's Reform UK administration has unveiled a £48 million highways improvement package for the coming year, with £7 million specifically allocated to repairing five critical landslip sites across the county.
The Holloway Closure and Repair Timeline
The situation in Holloway involves a 40-metre stretch of Leashaw road that collapsed following torrential rainfall, forcing its closure in November 2022. Council officials now confirm that repair works are scheduled to begin next spring.
While completion is likely by autumn 2026, a contingency deadline of December 2026 has been set, meaning the route will have been impassable for local residents and businesses for a full four years.
Originally, repairs were planned for completion by summer 2025, but this target was missed. The project was subsequently postponed, with work now expected to commence in spring 2026 rather than summer 2026 as initially suggested.
Engineering Solutions and Wider County Challenge
The £1.1 million restoration at Leashaw will involve sophisticated engineering solutions. These include constructing a new retaining wall and driving mini steel piles deep into the rockface beneath the road to secure the route permanently.
A council spokesperson detailed the plan: "Following detailed surveys and assessments by engineers, we intend to install micro concrete piles at the foot of the landslip collapse. Once the piling work has been done, we'll recreate the shape of the slope using soil and then finish with grass seed."
However, Holloway represents just one of 221 identified landslips across Derbyshire. Some, particularly those on Snake Pass, require "hundreds of millions" in funding—far beyond what the council can manage alone. Officials are actively pressing both the Government and the East Midlands Mayor for additional support.
Funding Allocation and Community Impact
The £7 million landslip fund is distributed across five priority sites:
- Station Road, Bakewell: £2.4 million
- Chesterfield Road, Beeley: £1.5 million
- Commonside, Barlow: £1.5 million
- Leashaw, Holloway: £1.1 million
- Mam Nick, Edale: £500,000
The prolonged Leashaw closure has forced Holloway residents to take lengthy detours for routine journeys, placed significant strain on alternative routes, and created substantial difficulties for local businesses trying to maintain their customer base.
The council acknowledged the disruption, stating: "We'd like to thank local people and businesses for their patience during the road closure and our detailed site investigations."
Beyond landslip repairs, the wider £48 million highways capital programme includes:
- £9.3 million for road maintenance
- £7.4 million for road resurfacing
- £4.7 million for surface dressing
- £3.3 million for micro-asphalt treatments
Councillor Charlotte Hill, responsible for highways, commented on the broader strategy: "The changes to the way highways work, by introducing fence to fence working and more permanent repairs, will mean that we can reduce potholes and improve the quality and safety of our roads."
She added that almost 80 percent of roads scheduled for improvement next year are residential, representing a significant shift from previous programmes that should be welcomed by residents.
