Road closure planned over fears of trees falling
GoogleA busy road in Derbyshire will be closed for safety reasons as Storm Goretti arrives.
Derbyshire County Council will shut the A5012 Via Gellia Road, between Cromford and Newhaven, overnight on Thursday.
The stretch is currently shut weekdays from 08:00 to 16:00 GMT for work to remove unstable trees affected by ash dieback disease.
But the road will be kept closed until Friday afternoon due to the "heightened risk" of trees falling due to the strong winds and heavy snow forecast.
The closure will be in place between Woodside Cafe at the Bonsall turn, to Grangemill at the junction with the B5056.
Signed diversions will be in place.
A council spokesperson said: "Our tree inspectors will assess the situation once the storm has passed over the area and, if safe to do so, the road will reopen at 16:00 on Friday.
"We realise that this will be a real inconvenience to those who regularly use this road, but public safety comes first."
As well as the road closure, Network Rail has decided to close the Hope Valley Line through the Peak District from 18:00 on Thursday until Saturday morning due to Storm Goretti.
An amber alert has been issued for Derbyshire by the Met Office, with the greatest likelihood of significant snow during the storm forecast for Wales and the Midlands, where there will be 5-10cm (1.9-3.9in), and perhaps in excess of 20cm (7.8in), especially on higher ground.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued amber cold health alerts for England, which will run until Sunday.
Ongoing closures of Via Gellia for tree work will resume on Monday and continue on weekdays until 28 February.
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