Cllr Neil Baker on when the Road of Remembrance in Folkestone will reopen
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Well obviously as we can see behind me we had a cliff collapse here, a natural event following
00:05high winds, natural water, all culminating in what is a pretty serious collapse here,
00:10which we've been working through since on a technical basis. What solution can we find to
00:15both stabilize the cliff and get the road back and open for all types of traffic? Now we're very
00:20close to finalizing the technical designs, which will mean we'll then be in a position to allocate
00:26funding to try and find the funding to do that. It has been a long process, clearly when a cliff
00:31collapses you can't just act straight away. It's been a very reactive project, finding out what's
00:37needed, what the soil is there, what the stability is like, any underlying archaeology, any other
00:42geological formations there which may cause problems, and then actually working with the
00:46owners of the property at the top to find a solution which will not just be a temporary
00:50patching job but will mean the cliff is stabilized and the road is open for the decades to come.
00:55We have thousands of miles of road in Kent we're responsible for. We've been clear from day one
00:59this isn't just any other road. It holds an important place in the hearts of people in
01:03Folkestone. This was of course a corner of Kent where many, many young people took their final
01:09journey traveling across the France in the First World War. It holds a special place in the hearts
01:12of the people of the town and their shared history, and we will reflect that as we have
01:16done throughout. It isn't just a road, it's an important piece of the local culture.