The 'moving mountain' shutting a road for two years

A "moving mountain" which has caused significant damage will close a main road for up to two years to prevent the risk of a life-threatening landslip, a report has said.

Essential work on the A469 between Tirphil and Pontlottyn in Caerphilly county, was expected to start in the spring after more than a decade of temporary traffic measures and short-term closures, but it has been delayed until the autumn.

Some traders are concerned about the effect a long-term closure will have on their businesses, but say they accept the work needs to be done.

Caerphilly council said the project was likely to cost at least £20m.

Increased rainfall in recent years has accelerated land movement along a section of the road, which has been monitored since 2014.

Following further movement after Storm Dennis in 2020, the road and surrounding hillside was designated an "active slip" and safety levels have fluctuated, according to a council report.

A failure to act could cause a "catastrophic slip" which would pose a "risk to lives and properties" and cut off a mains water supply, it said.

Council leader Jamie Pritchard said: "There'll be disruption and it will take a long time but it's imperative for the people in the upper Rhymney valley that we sort this road out.

"It is a main road and there are no real alternatives other than doing what we're doing."

Business owners in nearby Pontlottyn said they were worried they would lose a significant amount of passing trade when the road is closed.

Julian Harris, who owns a chip shop, said: "It'll be massive. People will go right away around and through other villages like Deri.

"They won't come through this village."

Car repairs shop owner Ian Cosh said: "It's been wearing away for the last 10 years. We had problems the last time they shut the road to do some work because it became a bit of a ghost town here.

"Goodness knows what happens if it shuts for two years and if businesses will survive."

The A469 between Tirphil to the south and Pontlottyn to the north has a long history of landslip concerns partly due to years of heavy coal mining in the area.

As a result, the village of Troedrhiwfuwch, which included a school and a pub, was flattened during the 1980s and only two houses remain.

The council's cabinet agreed a funding plan for the work last month and said it hoped to appoint an engineering contractor in early 2026.

The long-term closure of the only road that connects communities in the upper Rhymney valley will affect thousands of motorists who use it.

"I'd describe the road as a rollercoaster," said Tom Reynolds, who travels along the A469 every day to his job in Caerphilly.

"It's a very bumpy road in places... I wouldn't say it's a safe road to be driving on but with the current measurements in place, with the traffic lights and reducing the speed limit to 10mph, I think it's a safe solution for now."

Sheryl Diggle said Troedrhiwfuwch was a "lovely little village and community" and she remembers the day they were told "the mountain was moving" and had to leave.

"I didn't mind too much because I was happy to come back up the valley to my roots, but a lot of the villagers there felt let down," she said.

The council acknowledged a previous three-month closure of the road in 2014 caused "significant disruption" to businesses and residents.

A council report also said proposals to build alternative routes - with estimated a budget of between £75m to £85m - were considered in 2016.

None of those plans were taken forward and the council said the planned repairs would secure the long-term future of the A469 at Troedrhiwfuwch, "protect the local communities it serves" and ensure the transport infrastructure is "future-proofed" against climate change.