Work to sink final borehole at Leeson Road begins

Work to sink the third and final borehole at Leeson Road at Ventnor has begun.

The borehole will reach a depth of 130 metres and — in common with the two completed boreholes — will house monitoring equipment.

Ground samples from each of the boreholes are also being retrieved and these will also add to our understanding of the area’s geology.

All this additional knowledge will be crucial to agreeing an early warning system that will enable the road to be re-opened safely.

The core samples from the first borehole have established the depths of the various ground layers which were more or less in line with expectations:  chalk and sandstone to a depth of 43 metres, then gault clay to 95 metres and sandstone below that.

Michelle Love, service director for highways, said: "Despite some very wet weather, we remain on target to complete the borehole work within the stated schedule of ten to 12 weeks.

"Lastly, we would like to remind residents that businesses at both ends of the closure — in Shanklin Old Village as well as in Ventnor — are open and accessible via the diversion. Please continue to support our local businesses."

Meanwhile, residents who live close to the landslide are being asked to report any changes to their land or homes to support further geomorphological surveys that are underway to coastal.recovery@iow.gov.uk 

This information will then be passed to Jacobs, our commissioned consultant.