A WEYMOUTH beach has been transformed into a building site as huge diggers and heavy machinery move in to save the road above from collapse.

A major project to shore up cliffs at Castle Cove Beach is currently under way as the land owner carries out urgent remedial work.

As reported, Old Castle Road, which is situated on cliffs above the beach, is under threat from collapse due to landslides - last year Dorset Council revealed it was considering re-routing part of the highway across the Rodwell Trail to prevent homes from being cut off after an engineer's report revealed the extent of the problem.

Now, it is clear to see how much work is needed to mitigate coastal erosion at the site as heavy machinery has moved onto the land.

Dorset Echo: Heavy plant machinery at Castle Cove Beach Picture: John SmithHeavy plant machinery at Castle Cove Beach Picture: John Smith

Two 23 tonne diggers and a piling rig are currently working at the site - with even larger vehicles and equipment due to arrive for phase two.

Phase one, which is now under way, involves drilling around 96 'piles', which are filled with concrete and steel, to support the land.

The second phase of work, due to start in around a month, will see a series of much larger piles of 750 millimetre diameter being bored 22 metres down into the bedrock - taking around six weeks to drill.

The beach will remain open to the public throughout the work.

Land owner, Jason Craig, is investing 'several millions of pounds' into the project and will build three detached houses at the site once the land has been stabilised - one of which he will be moving into with his family.

Dorset Echo: The beach will remain open during the worksThe beach will remain open during the works

"We're on schedule and pushing forward as best we can," he said. "Due to the nature of the site we're having to design as we go.

"We're pleased to have local councillors on board and trying to get it all done as quickly as we can."

Temporary work has already been carried out to prevent further landslips - which also enabled Old Castle Road to reopen to two-way traffic, after one lane was closed due to the crumbling cliff edge creeping closer to the highway.

Earlier this year Mr Craig sought planning permission to carry out the extensive work as further landslips occurred - explaining to councillors at a town council committee meeting in March that the issue was "considerably worse" than the initial report showed.

"We purchased the site last year knowing that there were some issues structurally," he said at the time.

Dorset Echo:

"We entered into an agreement with Dorset Council to carry out the works to secure the road; subsequently there have been more landslips.

"Now we need to carry out work at the 'toe' - the area where the land meets the beach - to stop it slipping onto the beach," he added. "Unfortunately without securing it we can't secure the road or build the houses."

Residents speaking in support of the scheme described Mr Craig's conduct as "exemplary" - while he has also vowed to replace trees at the site, which had to be cut down in order for the work to go ahead.