Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Works raise hopes over Bervie Braes re-opening

Bervie Braes
Bervie Braes

Work to install a gate on a Stonehaven road will soon be carried out – raising hopes the route could eventually be open year-round.

The clifftop Bervie Braes is open to one-way traffic between April and October, when the drier weather means there is less chance of a landslip.

The route – which offers scenic views for visitors arriving from Dunnottar Castle – only reopened last year after £3.3million of stabilisation works were carried out on the upper slope following a landslip in 2009.

Many residents and businesses want the route to be open all year, amid fears the town is missing out on revenue from visitors when it is shut.

Earlier this year Aberdeenshire Council ruled out the move, although the suggestion of installing a gate which could close off the road in bad weather was mooted.

Now the local authority has tasked Hunter Construction with installing a gate, creating a better path for cyclists and pedestrians to ensure they can make their way up and down the braes safely, and smoothing sections of the road surface.

Last night Stonehaven councillor Graeme Clark – who wants the Bervie Braes to stay open all year – said it was a “positive” move.

He said: “I don’t see why the road should be closed at all, as long we continue monitoring it.

“We’ve got great forecasting systems, so if there’s any threat at all and the council feels the braes are in danger they should close it for that period only.

“If the council are putting up a gate and improving the road surface, that’s positive – maybe the road will reopen all year and close only when there’s a danger.”

Douglas Samways, chairman of the Stonehaven Town Partnership (STP), said he thought the introduction of the gate would make the route “more flexible” for use.

He added: “I don’t think there’s any reason why the Braes can’t be opened all year, although we do accept there could be extreme weather.

“But just a blanket ban from one randomly selected point in the year to another doesn’t make sense.”

A spokesman for Aberdeenshire Council said: “The work relates to certain measures which require to be undertaken around the summer opening of the Bervie Braes road. This work includes widening and improving the footpath/cycle path, minor patching of the road surface and installing a gate to close the road when conditions require.”