The Isle of Wight Council has revealed the contractor responsible for works being carried out on the landslip-hit Leeson Road has encountered “a few difficulties” but is still working towards the original timescale.

Deep borehole drilling commenced on September 9 at three locations on the road.

An initial timescale of ten to 12 weeks was given for the scheme, which seeks to investigate, log and sample the geological layers below Leeson Road, to further add to the data of the area following the landslide.

Experts can then use the boreholes to house extensive monitoring equipment throughout the layers and depths, to return continually available data, that indicates various types of underground movement, groundwater levels and pore-water pressures.

Last week, the local authority said both it, and Island Roads, were committed to reopening the Ventnor road.

That remains the case, and the two organisations are continuing to work on plans to open the road “as soon as it is practically possible”.

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“The contractor did encounter a few difficulties with the current borehole,” said a spokesperson for the council.

“These have now been resolved and have not impacted upon the timetable, with the 10 to 12-week closure period still being worked towards.

“As soon as we have a confirmed date for the reopening of Lesson Road, we will communicate this to Island residents.”