New drone footage has provided a closer look at the damage to the B4069 Lyneham Banks over a year on from the landslip.

The key route for many commuters between Chippenham and Lyneham was left “looking like an earthquake had hit” in February 2022, after a major landslip caused millions of pounds worth of damage.

Unsurprisingly, the road has remained closed since, and is not due to reopen to traffic until 2025.

The collapsed stretch of highway is closed off to the public for their own safety, but an amateur underground photographer, who goes by WonderGroundImages, recently found a way to update people on the current state of the road.

Using a drone, he was able to capture new footage showing how unstable the ground at the site remains.

“I decided having a look from above would be interesting and hopefully other people will be interested too”, he said.

“I did a series of three videos at the start of last year, but people were getting bored, so I gave it a year and put up a new one showing the progression.

“The damage is really striking and a lot of people told me if they didn’t know it was from a landslip they would’ve thought it was from an earthquake.

“You can see through about 60 or 70 years of resurfacing so it’s like looking back through the cracks.”

The footage offers close up glimpses of the cracks and gaps that have split the main road into pieces and shows the extent of the damage that remains at sections the public can no longer access.

Viewers can also see how trees and hedges have become overgrown at long unused parts of the highway.

Wiltshire Council recently revealed a £5.9 million scheme that aims to repair the road by 2025.

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: The council's repair planThe council's repair plan (Image: Wiltshire Council)

This will involve rebuilding the damaged section of the B4069 and constructing a piled retaining wall on the downward slope side of the highway.

The scheme will aim to stabilise both the slope and the road itself, while also improving drainage, removing imported material loading on the hillside and strengthening the surrounding ground.

Before construction can begin the council must complete the “intense and difficult” process of designing the scheme in full and seeking both funding and legal approval.

This is likely to take until the end of 2023 to achieve, with construction earmarked to start in spring 2024.