RESIDENTS and councillors are calling on Herefordshire Council to reopen a Wye Valley road which has been closed for more than four months.

The single track C1257 road at Symonds Yat West was closed on June 12 after a stone wall and the nearby road collapsed.

Currently, the only alternative for residents to access the 40 properties is via Ferrie Lane Byway alongside the River Wye to the rear of The Old Ferrie Inn.

This byway is narrow, unlit at night, with potholes and steep drops to the river. Its lowest point is also at risk of flooding when the river is high.

Local ward councillor Paul Newman said he has become increasingly shocked and disappointed by the apparent inactivity and lack of urgency shown by the council and their highways contractors.

“Action needs to be taken now, both to deal with the long term closure of the C1257 and to improve the currently very limited and frankly dangerous access via Ferrie Lane,” he said.

“The most recent work on Ferrie Lane has been frustratingly inadequate and further delays are just not acceptable”.

The road is nearly 1,000 yards long and with no actual passing places except for the sometimes unoccupied private drives or parking areas of residents.

No deliveries are possible – oil supplies and septic tank emptying is very difficult and emergency vehicles have limited access.

The council is appealing for a section 77 notice under the Building Act 1984, to require the owner of the property, next to the C1257 road, to remove a wall erected without consent.

Transport cabinet member Barry Durkin said: “We are working with local residents and businesses to move this issue forward but have reached the point where enforcement action is necessary and proportionate.

“We consider the wall to be in a dangerous condition and it needs to be made safe before we can proceed to fix the road.

“Our primary goal has always been, and remains, public safety, to reopen the road and provide some vehicle access as soon as it is safely possible to do so, although it may not be possible to reopen it to large or heavy vehicles again at all due to instability in the area.”