To ensure the safety of members of the public, a section of Castle Road, south of the Dumbarton Football Club entrance, will be closed to vehicles and the pavement closed to pedestrians from 8am – 5pm Monday – Friday while the works are taking place. The road and pavement will be reopened outside of these hours, and Dumbarton Castle will be open to visitors at weekends.
A temporary route will be put in place to facilitate pedestrian access to the Dumbarton Rock Bowling Club.
A detailed rock face inspection and scaling works will be carried out to the rock face above Castle Road to remove any lose material and vegetation from both the rock face and the base of the slope. Surveys will also be carried out to inform the design of a permanent rock risk remediation solution, which is the first phase of a long-term plan to replace existing temporary safety measures.
As part of HES’s rock risk management, tactile inspections and scaling of the rockface at Dumbarton Castle is carried out on a scheduled basis, and this essential work follows on from routine works that were undertaken earlier this year.
David Borthwick, Head of South Region at HES, said: “Management of the rock risk at Dumbarton Castle is a complex challenge. As well as protecting the public and the castle itself from the risk of rock falls, we must also maintain the condition and character of Dumbarton Rock which is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.