A LANDSLIDE cut off approximately 20 properties last week making the road into a village impassable.
Garth Road, linking Borth-y-Gest with Porthmadog, was closed by Gwynedd Council’s Highways agencies after tonnes of rock and detritus avalanched on the road (seen right) on Friday morning, 7 December.
According to Victoria Morris, one of the locals trapped, it took over 24 hours to re-open the road with exposed mains electricity cables causing issues for the road crew.
“There’s been a massive landslide on Garth Road, there’s at least 30 tonnes of wall and soil blocking off the end of Garth Road leading to Pen y Banc,” she said, whilst she was trapped by the collapsed wall.
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“All residents are totally blocked in and we had to call the police.
“We have had to walk to Porthmadog via the boatyards to do some shopping for our elderly neighbours, no one is quite sure what is going to happen.”
Speaking last Friday, a Gwynedd Council spokesperson said: “We were made aware early this morning (Friday) that a private retaining wall has given way and that a significant amount of material is blocking the Garth Road between Porthmadog and Borth-y-Gest. Council staff are on-site assessing the situation with representatives from Scottish Power and there are discussions with the property owner so that the debris could be cleared away.”
Porthmadog councillor Selwyn Griffiths was pleased with how quickly the situation was resolved and how the community worked together to look after their most vulnerable neighbours.“I am very grateful for the prompt action of Gwynedd Council and Scottish Power when they received the news about the landslide,” he said.“The road is now open with restricted access due to the narrow width of 2.5m and the situation will be daily monitored to ensure the safety of everyone. “The road will have to be closed in the future for a period of time to ensure that the land will be made safe. “I would like to thank the residents who showed amazing community spirit in looking out for their elderly neighbours during the period they were unable to leave their homes owing to the blocked road. “These days we talk a great deal that we have no community, but these people showed that community spirit is still alive and I applaud them for looking after others.”