Between the Belford Road bridge and Dean Village, completely closed by landslides.
I fought my way past (and under / over) two fallen trees for THIS?
Anyway - public service announcement, don't even bother heading this way!
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure
W.O.L. path well and truly closed at Dean Village
(38 posts)-
Posted 11 years ago #
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tweeted, #edtravcyc-ed etc.
Posted 11 years ago # -
damn, glad I didn't cycle today then
Posted 11 years ago # -
Looks passable with care and a bit of hoicking between the fenced-off bits behind the back of Donaldson's.
Posted 11 years ago # -
I think the idea is that with so much rain and a possible land slip already they don't want to risk having to rescue anyone who ventures down there and potentially becomes trapped by any further slips.
Posted 11 years ago # -
"
Please note that a section of the Water of Leith Walkway between Dean Path Steps and Sunbury Bridge has been closed due to a high risk of landslip.
Barriers have been erected with explanatory signage and directions to alternative routes. The Natural Heritage will inspect and maintain these as necessary.
Based on a preliminary assessment by Bridges & Structures the risk at this stage is significant. The section of path cannot be re-opened until a full engineering assessment has been carried out and any required stabilisation works carried out. Given the pressures across the City from the recent adverse weather, a time scale for this work cannot be confirmed at this stage. I will provide an update when timescales can be confirmed, but for the time being the path will remain closed.
Please share this information as required and any enquiries about the closure, barriers and signage, or progress of works should be directed to the Natural Heritage Service on 0131 447 7145 or naturalheritageservice@edinburgh.gov.uk"
Natural Heritage Service - how long has the 'parks' bit of SfC been called that?
Posted 11 years ago # -
UPDATE
Today I was told -
'Dean path closed for at least 20 weeks. Investigation of ways to stabilise area, still going on. Seriously high risk of further slippage, so efforts being made to stop people going round barriers.'
Posted 11 years ago # -
Over 2 years later, and it looks like work has finally been completed. Took the detour this morning only to find all barriers have been removed and the path looks open again behind me when I rejoined. I'll be heading home this way so will let everyone know if it is passable once more.
Posted 9 years ago # -
good news, fingers crossed no more land slides but the valley seems to have a fair bit of movement this weather. What happend to all the gormleys they kept getting swept away?
Posted 9 years ago # -
@gembo
The Gormleys are hinged on a bolt that breaks under the impact of treetrunks. The system was expected to be triggered once every five years, not every other week.
Re-erecting the pieces requires the intervention of conservation staff trained in 'water entry', all of whom have better things to be going on with.
The one that's buried chest-deep in the tarmac on Belford Road is never swept away, but it is hard to view.
Posted 9 years ago # -
You mean, the Gormleys are still there, just underwater? I'd assumed that they were temporary and had been removed!
Posted 9 years ago # -
offshore is a good Penelope Fitzgerald novel I could recommend on the book group thread about living on a houseboat on the thames and big flood. I will also recommend all her other books which she did not start writing until she was sixty.
on the tarmac gormley I hope the rest of him is down there and it is not a trick with just his top third sticking out.
What about the shed with the stove I want a shot of that.
Posted 9 years ago # -
@fimm
Yes indeed. They have laid them down due to troubled waters.
@gembo
The buried one is all there. Gormley insisted. Not sure if it has the hinged mechanism though. Hope it does.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Confirmed that path is open again - collapsed section has been rebuilt and lots of relaid / wider bits as well.
Watch out for a few inches of support sticking out of the middle of the path near the weir though - painted bright orange so hopefully they are still to be trimmed down.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Passed over WOL by dean village and silver steps on Tues 18th oct 2016 - I was horrified as the damage due to creep is really dangerous. I took bike over but will not do again and was surprised to see others still using it for walking etc. The council will just leave this to collapse and if this winter sees a lot of rain it may happen very quickly. Hope no-one gets killed.
Posted 7 years ago # -
The path was fine till they built the new house at the top of the embankment. Hope they're picking up the tab for any repair works.
Personally I take the risk of walking over the slipped stuff rather than have to walk up and down Howthorbank Lane
Posted 7 years ago # -
When I went that way a couple of weeks ago, the path was firmly closed off downstream from the wee bridge. Noone could walk through without some serious clambering over the barrier. Has that all been removed?
Posted 7 years ago # -
Went yesterday.
Still fence to climb at one end (with hole big enough for most people) and fence to help the climb at other end.
Clearly LOTS of people (and some bikes) not put off.
Landslip probably not moved since it first happened(?) EDIT re-read up thread. SO this was fixed and has slipped again?
Posted 7 years ago # -
We found the barriers when we tried to walk through from the Gallery of Modern Art to Dean Village. I don't think there were any warning signs at the gallery steps which might have been helpful. It turned out there was a bus stop on Corstorphine Road in the other direction so it all worked out okay.
Posted 7 years ago # -
"We found the barriers when we tried to walk through from the Gallery of Modern Art to Dean Village."
That's this -
Posted 7 years ago # -
It was fixed up, resurfaced and reopened about 18 months ago. Following a wee bit of rain 12 months ago there was another bigger land slip.
This path was fine till they build a big house at the top of the slope.
Water of Leith Trust posted map recently showing something like 4 miles of path is currently closed.
Posted 7 years ago # -
@CyclingMollie
I don't think there were any warning signs at the gallery steps
There is a sign by the steps down off Belford Road, but it's a tiny paper thing.
Posted 7 years ago # -
I tried to run along the WoL from Stockbridge to Slateford Aqueduct a few weeks ago and it was a joke. More of it was closed than open. This used to be one of the nicest places to run in the city, these days I just wouldn't bother.
Posted 7 years ago # -
In fairness most of it is actively being upgraded at the moment. WOL flood stuff around Murryfield should be finished in the next few months, path upgrade between Roseburn and Belford should be finished in a week.
Only bit not due to be finished soon is Dean village to Belford.
Posted 7 years ago # -
I guess if you choose to detour round the fence which many intrepid stockbrigers have done then the risk is on you rather than the council? Fellow writing the article is rather measured in his critique, not the usual Johnston press rant. Maybe he suggested the congestion charge be brought back for non edinburgh residents (or maybe that was ME)
Posted 4 years ago # -
My understanding is that the CEC is tied up in a legal dispute with the owner of the new property at the top of the bank. So it's not just a case of the council dragging its feet and/or being short of budget (except perhaps for lawyers).
Here is the timeline of updates on the WoL Conservation Trust's web site since the path was closed for the second time due to continuing instability:
Bad News the land at Dean has moved again - meaning the path is closed for the forseeable future
All this wet weather has caused movement in the slope at Dean Valley which was closed for over a year following a landslide. There is evidence of movement and significant damage to the path so the walkway from Sunbury to Damside is closed again. Please respect the local diversion which will be in place by the end of the week and do not use the path.
The section between Sunbury Place and the Dean Path steps is closed due to a landslip. The most recent update I have in relation to this is that investigations have now been completed by the appointed engineers of the home owner above the landslip. The councils legal team is currently in negotiation with the home owners legal representatives to progress the resolution of re-opening the footpath as soon as possible.
The City of Edinburgh Council are aware of public concern over the continued closure of a part of the Dean Path following a second land slip in January 2016. The Council are committed to ensuring that the path is reopened as soon as possible. Various avenues are being pursued by the Council, including court action, to try and ensure that work is undertaken to make the path safe. The Council cannot comment further at this stage due to ongoing legal proceedings.
The section of path between Sunbury Bridge and the steps at Dean Path has been closed due to a landslip. The Council are in the process of investigating this issue. In the meantime we would like to request that public respect the closure, use an alternative route, and do not put themselves at risk.
That last statement seems significantly more bland than the March 2018 one so I can understand Mr Johnston's frustrations - but it may be that they really can't say anything more if legal wranglings are still ongoing.
I too am very disappointed that this section of the walkway is still closed. I can still remember being blown away to see a dipper on the Water of Leith as I walked through from Dean Village to Belford Bridge while house-hunting preparatory to moving up to Edinburgh. It was almost like an omen, telling me that I was making the right decision in fleeing the Great Wen. But if it's got to the point where litigation is in the offing then it's not a huge surprise that any bets about timescales have to be put on hold.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Of course CEC could do the work and hope house owner is found liable.
If they aren’t CEC will have to pay for path anyway.
Is house occupied?
Posted 4 years ago # -
chdot, I suspect that after the compulsory repairs scandal that there is a reduced appetite for such things.
Posted 4 years ago #
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