Road damaged by landslip set to be repaired at cost of £20 million

Nicholas Thomas – Local democracy reporter

After more than a decade of disruption, repairs to a south Wales road damaged by a landslip could begin next autumn, at a cost of around £20 million.

Caerphilly County Borough Council has set out new proposals to stabilise the A469 between Pontlottyn and Tirphil it describes as a “main arterial link” for residents of the Upper Rhymney Valley.

A landslip in 2014 closed the A469 for months and caused “significant disruption”, and in 2020 Storm Dennis “triggered further movement” at the site.

The road is subject to traffic restrictions and works designed to repair surface cracking and minimise the risk of more ground movements – but the possibility of more bad weather and ground water pose a constant threat of further problems.

Cllr Jamie Pritchard, the council’s new leader, said he had pledged to find the money to fix the A469 when he took the top job, following uncertainty and frustrations over the extent to which government funding would cover the project’s costs.

“We recognise the significant impact the road is having on residents and businesses in the Upper Rhymney Valley, so we are prioritising the delivery of this key scheme,” he said ahead of a cabinet meeting scheduled for Wednesday December 10.

A cabinet report sets out a provisional timetable for the project, suggesting a two-year construction period could begin in the autumn of 2026, but describes this start date as “very optimistic”.

It is hoped construction will be completed by the end of the 2028/29 financial year.

The report shows the council has budgeted around £20 million for the A469 – and will fund this through a combination of borrowing and repurposing money from other capital projects.

The local authority already has a little over £1 million reserve funding earmarked for the A469, and cabinet members are expected to back proposals to dip into other projects’ budgets to contribute just over £10 million.

The main sources for that funding include Ysgol Y Lawnt and Upper Rhymney Primary School, which are expected to move to a new £17 million dual-language school campus.

But the council said that project is on hold for the time being, while a new working group reviews links between falling pupil numbers and school budget pressures across the borough.

It has proposed diverting nearly £6.3 million from the schools project over to the A469 fund.

Other “repurposed” money includes more than £800,000 from reserves of the Cwm Ifor Solar Farm project, which has been put up for sale, and £375,000 from a flood alleviation scheme in Van Road, which did not secure a Welsh Government grant.

The council has proposed borrowing nearly £11 million to cover the rest of the A469’s expected budget, which will also include a £2 million cushion in case costs rise.

It estimates a 25-year loan will lead to annual repayments of nearly £850,000.

When the project begins, the scale of the project will mean a full road closure and a diversion route, which the council accepts will have “a considerable impact”.

But the council said this was preferable to “the risk of sporadic closures” and would give bus operators a chance to prepare alternative routes and timetables.

It added the project’s timeline and road closures would be “communicated clearly to local communities, stakeholders, and commuters to minimise disruption as far as reasonably practicable”.