A community, which has been badly affected by a landslip, was disrupted again yesterday after a night of heavy rain brought more debris down over the road.
A temporary brick wall at Gardenstown’s Harbour Road was left in pieces on Tuesday night after more of the hillside collapsed.
And through the night, the local authority and police helped people living nearby evacuate their homes in fear of yet further slippage.
The lower half of Gardenstown has been cut off since December, when the hillside first started giving way.
Engineering teams have since been on the site and ground investigation work is underway to determine how badly the slope has been affected – and how costly it will be to repair.
Meanwhile, one resident slammed the timescales which the local authority is keeping.
Colin Wallek, 69, branded it “nonsensical” that it had taken 13 weeks to begin assessments of the site.
He added: “It (the wall) was fully loaded from the last landslip and the council didn’t clear it. With the right management, this could have been avoided.
“The council should now clear the wall and clear it quick. ”
Local councillor Hamish Partridge responded that moving people was the right thing to do overnight, but insisted repairs must now be carried out as a “matter of urgency”.
He said: “It’s a blow, obviously. No matter how we look at this, it’s going to slow things down.
“Hopefully, we can get it cleared as soon as possible and get it passable again, then get the geotechnical teams back on site.
“Time is dragging on and, as a matter of urgency, we need to push it and get the work done. It has affected too many lives for too long.”
A spokesman for Aberdeenshire Council said there has been no “obvious” sign of new damage to the hill despite the recent slip.
He added: “Our geotechnical consultants, currently working on site to look at long-term solutions, will give us an updated expert view on the risk being posed to allow us to take further decisions.
“This will include whether or not the temporary road openings which have been taking place will still go ahead.”
