Argyll and Bute Council has agreed how it will take forward works on a stretch of road in Kintyre which is susceptible to landslides.

The authority will formalise the roadside and field drainage on the B842 Conie Glen road between Campbeltown and Southend, and construct a new northbound lane uphill of the existing road.

Although the solution does not remove the entire risk of the ground below the road continuing to slip, it does provide a reduced level of risk which can be better managed in future.

The Conie Glen road is built on top of an area of ground which has experienced landslides both prior to its construction and since.

In modern times, there were ground movements about 40 years ago and again in 2009, although experts believe it is likely that small movements have been continually taking place in between.


Following the landslip activity in 2009, traffic has been confined to single way working under the control of traffic lights.

The Council engaged geotechnical experts Scott Wilson to draw up a report on the situation and the possible options open to it, before drawing up the report considered at today's Executive.

Council Leader Dick Walsh said: "It is extremely important that we do something at this location, as this issue is not going to go away. The current situation is obviously of concern not just to the local residents, but to the many hundreds of people who visit the Southend area both for business and pleasure.

"We believe this option is the best way forward, and the local community is supportive of it.

"It will not reduce the risk entirely. However, we already have monitoring equipment on site which will alert us immediately if there is any future movement so that we can get on site straight away to stabilise the situation should it be necessary."

The project will now move to the design phase. It is hoped that the work will be completed towards the end of the summer.

(GK/BMcC)