OT: Garden landslide

[AnthonyL]

My house is in what once was a clay quarry and the back garden rises, in a couple of stages, to about 50', maybe more. The last stage is very steep, impossible to get up and was covered in ivy. At the very top are some trees/bushes and then a pavement and main road belonging to another borough.

Yesterday the top section slid down, which was only prevented from reaching the middle section by the presence of my now destroyed shed.

There is less material underpinning the road above and some of the steep slope is now vertical clay material. I think there is a fair lateral distance to the road and the trees that form my boundary are still secure.

Not sure what my next steps should be and also what best to revegetate the upper level bearing in mind it would take a "mountaineer" to get there.

[Robin]

Pictures please?

I'd have thought the top priority was to get advice on what if any further collapse is likely - and depending how close it is to the highway that the Highways Authority would want to know too.

But you don't need to be a mountaineer if there's access to the top from the road. I'm an aged wimp but I'd be happy to work (slowly) in a harness with a descendeur on a rope to e.g. plant the face. I'd want someone I trusted at the top though to make sure no bugger cut the ropes or removed the belays. There's plenty of people who do such rope access work for building maintenance.

[Chris Hogg]

Bear in mind that ivy is pretty shallow-rooted, so doesn't do much to hold the soil together. If/when you get to replant, use deep-rooted plants. Some suggestions here:

[Andy Burns]

I didn't know that, but it makes sense looking at

I don't know how far along your road you live, but from google's aerial map there seems to be signs of other gardens having similar landslide, maybe speak to those neighbours, see what they did and whether it worked.

Abseil down?

[The Natural Philosopher]

I think in short order you need a structural engineers report and a report to the county council in terms of a dangerous road

Then a heads up to your insurance company.

Do whatever the structural engineer suggests if its not done by the council and get the insurance to pay

[GB]

Insurance to pay under which part of the policy? Possibly public liability, if the OP has an obligation to provide support to the neighbouring land.

[Brian Gaff (Sofa 2)]

I'd consult the owners of the land which I gather is a council, as they may wish to do remedial work before you start putting it all back. I live near a Clay Quarry too , but not heard if any problems have ensued. There was already a dent in the road over it where they built some houses on a large slab of concrete over the filled quarry. Most of it filled with clinkers and bits of old cars it seems, with topsoil added. I spoke to somebody living there a couple of years ago who did not know the history. I always thought searches of the history should reveal such problems. There ar e also some of the houses built on the flood plain at the bottom of the hill. Brian

[nightjar]

Clay is not a very good material for slopes. As you found out, when it gets wet it tends to slump, unless the slope is at a very shallow angle, which can be as little as 15 degrees from the horizontal in some cases. As others have said, you need a structural engineer to visit and to assess it. The chances are that it needs a retaining wall to be built.

[harry]

The classic way to fix that sort of thing is with mini piles. Not cheap.

[AnthonyL]

Thanks for the list.

The "soil" is clay. This was a brickworks/quarry.

The slope is almost sheer, and now more sheer towards the top. It's impossible to get up without a rope and I'd estimate about 50deg+

I'll try and get a closer look when this wretched weather eases but my suspicion is that a shrub near the top got blown out bring its roots etc down together with the ivy covering.

[AnthonyL]

Yes approaching the insurance company first might be a good move. I had a look from the road at the top yesterday and the pavement is quite wide, about 3m (which is then the boundary) and then maybe another 2m-3m with some 1m rise before the descent. The shrub/trees at the top which preclude a closer look appear unaffected.

[AnthonyL]

[Tim Streater]

When you say "authority", do you mean District or Borough Council, or County? Highways will be County, so lets hope you're not on a County boundary.