As we report below. in early 2013 a large landslip took place in Pelaw Wood, leading to the closure of both the “middle” and the riverside paths. The damage was extensive.
Durham County Council commissioned a geotechnical survey and the resulting report recommended 2 options – a more expensive soil nail slope stabilisation proposal (approx. £750,000) and a simpler, but still costly (approx. £250,000) re-grading with more limited stabilisation works.
Clearly this is a significant amount of money, and in the current financial climate it will be very hard for the council to find. It is therefore likely to be some time before the proposed work could begin.
The Friends of Pelaw Wood would like to work with others to try to find a low-cost, pragmatic solution to reopen the riverside path as soon as possible.