REPAIRS to a road closed for a year due to the risk of landslips will keep the route safe for ‘at least the next 125 years’ – but there is still no confirmation of when it will be reopened.

Dinah’s Hollow, which runs through Melbury Abbas near Shaftesbury in north Dorset, was shut in April last year after an independent geotechnical report concluded there was a ‘strong possibility of the slopes collapsing into the road’. It said such a landslip would be ‘sufficient to engulf a small vehicle’.

The closure has resulted in increased traffic through the villages and hamlets along the A350.

Dorset County Council, which says ‘it would not be prudent to offer a specific date’ for the work’s completion, is now pursuing a modified proposal to tackle the problem after earlier concerns about the effect on trees and vegetation.

Andrew Martin, the council’s head of highways, said: "The new design preserves more trees than the previous proposal, but still gives us a solution to stabilise the slopes and prevent the risk to life.

“Once completed, we expect this solution will prevent landslips for at least the next 125 years.”

The modified proposal will retain the existing width between the toes of the slopes.

The slopes along the highway are privately owned and the council says negotiations are continuing with the landowners.

A report that considers a number of scenarios relating to the continued closure of the road is being taken to the council’s cabinet in May.

A two-mile diversion route is currently in place via the A350 Blandford to Shaftesbury Road.

The council has dedicated a section of its website to the closure with regular bulletin updates. It says: “It is to no one's benefit to impose an artificial delay on the re-opening of Dinah's Hollow, least of all Dorset County Council, who are determined to progress things as quickly as is practicable.”

For more information, visit dorsetforyou.com/dinahs-hollow