Mansfield mudslide site 'should not have been developed until secure'

A site where the side of a cliff collapsed into gardens should not have been developed until it was secure, a report has found.

In November a landslide on an estate built near the former Berry Hill Quarry in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, led to about 35 homes being evacuated.

An independent consultant said the site should not have been developed until the quarry face was secured.

Mansfield District Council said it must "learn" from the findings.

On 7 November part of the 25m (82ft) cliff behind Bank End Close and Stone Bank gave way after heavy rain.

No-one was injured but the debris filled some gardens and about 19 households had to spend two weeks in temporary accommodation.

A report by independent consultant Jayne Francis-Ward found the council "acted reasonably" by giving the green light to plans to build in the quarry.

But she added: "Ideally, with the benefit of hindsight, no development should have been permitted on the site until the stabilisation of the quarry face in both the short and long-term had been secured."

She conceded there was nothing to suggest there would be a major landslip in four different technical reports.

But she said officers were aware of the potential damage one could cause, and were too slow in taking up the recommendations in a report into what they should do about it.

The council said they were hampered by "unresolved issues" over who owned and was responsible for the land.

Chief executive Hayley Barsby said the landslip had raised "many questions".

She added: "One thing is very clear: we must learn from this and ensure there is no repeat of such an incident in the district."

Work is currently under way to secure the cliff with mesh and pegs.

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