This page has been created to give the public information about the landslip that occurred at Berry Hill Quarry on Thursday 7 November 2019.
What happened?
Fairhurst, the council’s geotechnical specialists described the landslip as an extreme climatic event that involved a complex failure of cliff materials.
The landslip experienced at Berry Hill Quarry came about due to very heavy rainfall week commencing 4 November. Unprecedented levels of rainfall in a very short space of time caused the cliff slope to become unstable and some of this fell into the gardens of properties on Bank End Close and Stone Bank in Berry Hill Quarry.
The council appointed Fairhurst to manage the onsite situation, advise the council on its emergency response and to lead on the long term stabilisation of the cliff. A project team was put together to give 24 hour respond to the emergency. The team co-ordinated the evacuation, daily support and resident liaison along with facilitating their return home.
As a matter of safety, 32 homes were evacuated, and 19 remained evacuated for two weeks. Alternative accommodation was provided for those residents who could not relocate to friends or family and this cost was met by Mansfield District Council. During the two weeks, the council commissioned specialist consultants to deliver a programme of emergency remedial works to clear the 1,300 tonnes of material that slipped, tree removal, the creation of a stone access path at the rear of properties and the installation of blocks and bunds to give temporary protection to properties in Stone Bank and Bank End Close. During those two weeks, Mansfield District Council provided a dedicated response team to give daily help and support to evacuated residents including emergency supplies, access to possessions and making arrangements so that outdoor pets were cared for.
The council issued claim forms to homeowners for property damage and recompensed residents accordingly
A residents’ meeting was held on 20 November with evacuated residents and tenants to discuss their safe return home and some of the finer detail regarding planning, remedial works and the future stabilisation of the cliff.
To summarise the key points:
- The council is satisfied that planning conditions had been met for the Berry Hill Quarry Development
- The council took responsibility for clearing the slip and seeking a long term solution to stabilise the cliff face
- The council asked for the full co-operation of the affected properties to give access to the buffer zone and gardens to allow for stabilisation works to take place
- The council is seeking financial support from central government to undertake the stabilisation works to the cliff face.
Residents were able to return home on 22 November after remedial works had been completed and Fairhurst were satisfied that mitigation work was sufficient to make the area safe to return to.
Since then, Fairhurst has undertaken regular surveys of the cliff face and suggested any changes to the risk assessment. Monitoring of the cliff face will continue until the long term stability works have been completed and a maintenance plan agreed for the cliff area. We are pleased to confirm that the ongoing surveys do not present any immediate issues or concerns. Residents have been asked to keep time spent in their back gardens to a minimum, to remain diligent and report any concerns to the council on a dedicated emergency telephone line.
The mitigation works have remained in situ, these include bund and blocks within the buffer zone and Herras fencing to delineate the area that should not be accessed by residents.
View the independent summary and conclusion
The British Geological Survey also attended the site to carry out a landslip survey (opens in new window).
The council can confirm that the cliff top and the cliff face belongs to the local authority and that further surveys will be conducted to determine the boundaries at the foot of the quarry as part of the wider stabilisation project.
Mansfield District Council held meetings with residents to share the plans for the stabilisation project. You can read more about the plans in our news article.
Further slips
Two further slips have occurred since November 2019; one in December 2020 where a number of homes were again evacuated for two nights. Temporary accommodation costs were again met by Mansfield District Council where required and again dedicated support and assistance was provided to the affected residents. A second smaller slip occurred in January 2021 and required no evacuations. The spoil from both slips landed in the temporary exclusion zone and caused no damage to property.
Since the initial slip in 2019, Mansfield District Council has been in negotiation with residents regarding the stabilisation works. Legal arrangements have been put in place to allow the council access to all necessary land to facilitate the undertaking of these works. Due to the complexity of the negotiations with homeowners, this process has taken 15 months to come to a satisfactory conclusion. The District Valuer was appointed to provide a value of both the buffer zone land and garden land per square metre and that independent assessment has been shared with the home owners and offers made on that basis. The council continues to work with the homeowners to complete these land transfers to ensure that both the cliff face and fence barrier are maintained in the future with minimal disruption to residents. The stabilisation works should give confidence to current and future residents who live at the foot of the cliff face.
Permanent stabilisation works started in March 2021.
The £3m stabilisation works include the installation of tensile netting across the cliff face and a high capacity catch fence barrier which will take 22 weeks to complete.
After the works are finished, gardens and fencing will be reinstated along with existing pathways. The council has offered to purchase the land from the residents that the high capacity fence barrier will sit on in order to facilitate access for maintenance in the future. Much of this land is contained within a buffer zone that sits behind gardens at the foot of the cliff face and is excluded for use as garden land. Where parcels of garden land are required, the council has worked with the geotechnical company to minimise the extent needed.
Link to our news items
Berry Hill Quarry: residents’ update
Milestone for Berry Hill project
Further information
You can search the council’s planning applications database (opens in new window) to view documents relating the Berry Hill Quarry.
The development around Stone Bank and Bank End Close is contained in the planning application 2007/0457 (opens in new window) and a revision to the proposed development in 2010, planning applications (2010/0752) (opens in new window).
You can contact the project team on berryhillplanninggroup@mansfield.gov.uk with any queries. Media enquiries must be directed to the Public Relations office on publicrelations@mansfield.gov.uk.