Decision

North Yorkshire Council intends to enter an
agreement with adjacent landowner to the Side Bank Wood Retaining
Wall near Downholme, for the dedication of approximately 800m2 area
of land for highway purposes pursuant to section 72 of the Highways
Act 1980. The land is to be used to construct an embankment and
reconstruct the retaining wall at the foot of the
embankment.

Reasons for the decision

Following the collapse of a 10m section of
Side Bank Wood Retaining Wall, which supports the A6108, a scheme
was developed to reconstruct the wall. Slope instability was
identified as the cause of the failure and thus a scheme was
developed to construct an embankment to regrade the existing slope
at the foot of the wall and relocate the retaining wall to base of
the slope to stabilise the structure.

Alternative options considered

An options appraisal was conducted to
determine the best option considering the cause of the failed
section of wall, the whole life and carbon costs.