Safety Work on Anton Drive Retaining Wall Starting Soon

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Yesterday, the City Council confirmed that the contract for the safety work on the Anton Drive retaining wall has been finally agreed and a company called Phi Group will carry out the work. The contract is currently scheduled to start in week commencing 11 March. The Housing Department have committed to notifying residents with the definite start date by the beginning of March.

I think that residents in Anton Drive and the vicinity will be relieved when the current retaining wall has been made safe although I know there will be lingering concerns about the safety of the trees on the private land on the steeply rising bank above the retaining wall. 

Residents will however be pleased that there has been a slight amendment to how the work is to be undertaken. Initially it was thought that Anton Drive would need to be closed for at least 2 weeks while the work was carried out, but this is not now the case. The road will be kept open, but there will be parking restrictions during the day, when the work people are on site.

Replacement of Anton Drive Retaining Wall Approved

On Monday night 10 December, at the Housing Committee, the Committee approved a £94,144 tender for the replacement of the retaining wall in Anton Drive.

This is what I said at Committee in support of this investment:

"Convener, I welcome this tender for £94,144 for the replacement of the retaining wall at Anton Drive in The Ferry. Residents will be able to rest easier in their beds when they know that the retaining wall on the other side of their Street has been made safe. Since the City Engineer declared that the wall was in danger of collapse in early July, following a period of sustained heavy rainfall, residents have been nervous about living close to the wall and the steeply rising land behind it.

I hope they can look forward to a speedy build period and an end to a section of their road partitioned off by security fencing that was erected as a precautionary measure."

I was advised that the work would be started before the end of January and should be completed in three weeks. The Director of Housing agreed to keep residents informed about the definite start date for the building work and the required street closure during the contract period. As the new wall would partly use space previously available for informal car parking, the Director also agreed to explore alternative locations for replacement car parking spaces in the vicinity.