Road collapse in a Peak District village severs a community

Residents in a Peak District Village have been left devastated after flood water washed a road away.
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A road collapse has cut off families farms and businesses in Abney, severing a close knit community.

It is the second time Abney has been isolated in just four years residents have been told there is no short term solution.

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Dramatic flooding on November 7 led to the largest land slip in recent years in Derbyshire, taking away 20 metres of road between Abney and Abney Grange, making it unsafe even for pedestrians.

Collapse closes 20 metres of road between Abney and Abney Grange.Collapse closes 20 metres of road between Abney and Abney Grange.
Collapse closes 20 metres of road between Abney and Abney Grange.

The road is now subject to a road closure meaning farmers in the village cannot reach livestock on the other side of the collapse, without undertaking a 26-mile round trip.

Andrew Chadwick, Chairman of Abney Parish Meeting and a farmer with land either side of the closure is one of those most affected and he is very concerned about the effects on his farming operations. He said: “I have 200 sheep on the other side of the collapse which would have taken me three minutes to reach before the road was washed away.

“Now I have an hour’s drive to feed them and in the worst weather, they will now be almost inaccessible.

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“When I am lambing I will typically travel up this road ten times in a day to take ewes and lambs to the nursery field because I cannot take large numbers in one batch because of the risk of mis-mothering.

Collapse closes 20 metres of road between Abney and Abney Grange.Collapse closes 20 metres of road between Abney and Abney Grange.
Collapse closes 20 metres of road between Abney and Abney Grange.

“I have no idea how I am going to cope at lambing time if the Council do not mend the road before then. It is a nightmare.”

Ron Eyre also has livestock on both sides of the collapse but he runs a livery business as well and now many of his clients have a very long detour to reach their horses.

He said the road closure will cause ‘year round inconvenience’ and ‘disruption’ to his business as he also has to make the 26 mile detour.

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Other families are suffering the consequences, especially those who live in Abney Grange and can no longer travel to schools, businesses and the care home in Hathersage without making a long journey on narrow, windy roads.

Ian Redfern and Yvonne Matthews run Harringtons Butchers in Hathersage and another shop in Penistone and say closure is making their life almost impossible.

Yvonne said: “We are approaching our busiest time at the butchers shop and we cannot even walk safely through the closure. Our two children are at different schools and one cannot get on the school bus now and the other can no longer have a lift into the village to catch the bus to Tapton School in Sheffield.

“When the snow comes we will be completely cut off because our only access out of the village is past the gliding club and the snow blows in and drifts across the road.

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We will be isolated and I cannot see how we will be able to continue to run our businesses, plus there is the social impact on the children who can no longer go and see their friends.”

A spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council said:

“This is a major landslide which has taken a large piece of road with it. We undertook an initial inspection and a specialist team have since been out assessing the damage to determine what work needs to be done, how long it will take and how much it will cost.

”We appreciate the road closure is very inconvenient for local people and businesses and we can assure them that we’re doing everything we can to find a solution. There’s no quick fix and we hope people will bear with us while we try to resolve it. In the meanwhile we’re urging people to heed the road closed signs as safety is a priority.”