Highways chiefs have agreed to fast-track repairs to a collapsed road in the Yorkshire Dales after local farmers formed a ‘diggers’ committee’ to create their own emergency route.

Westmorland and Furness Council confirmed that diggers will move in next week to repair the road in Dentdale, between Hawes and Sedbergh, which has been closed since a landslip on November 24 last year.

The decision means the dale’s residents will avoid facing another winter of long detours over exposed high-level routes to reach their local services.

The works had initially been scheduled for spring 2026, but pressure from residents persuaded officials to act sooner.
A residents’ pressure group calling itself the ‘escape committee’ was formed and a group of farmers, known as the ‘diggers’ committee’, was on standby to create their own road on private land adjacent to the landslip if necessary.

County councillor Ian Mitchell said: “This has been a frustrating time for so many people within the Dent and Cowgill communities.
“It was resident pressure that really helped move us towards a solution.”

Among those hardest hit by the closure are Barney and Harvie Strange, who have faced lengthy detours to take their severely disabled son Rafferty to a specially trained carer in Ingleton. Longer journeys increase the risk of Rafferty choking.  Barney said: “The landslip has been devastating for our family and for the wider community, especially our vulnerable people.  We were dreading another winter, risking high-level routes and long detours, so this news is wonderful. We cannot thank the council enough for listening.”

The closure has also affected local businesses, including holiday cottage operators, who reported lost trade due to poor access.

The landslip resulted in the carriageway being undermined with a steep drop of two metres to the River Dee below.

The project will involve realigning the existing carriageway by moving the road away from the crest of the landslip.

This will involve moving around 12,000 tonnes of material off-site.

Councillor Peter Thornton, Westmorland and Furness Council’s cabinet member for highways and ICT, said: “I am delighted that work is so close to starting to fix this road. We have been talking and working with the community since the closure and fully understand the impact and frustrations the diversions have caused. This is a complex site and officers and specialist contractor WSP really have pulled out the stops to investigate, analyse and design the solution far quicker than an issue as challenging as this would normally take.  We are also pleased to be in a position to start preparing for work from Monday and reconnecting this vital route in a matter of weeks, weather permitting.”

The work is expected to take seven weeks, weather permitting.