Costs of £450,000 may be needed by Dorset County Council to sort out a landslip on the edge of a business park on the outskirts of Sturminster Newton.

Land movement at the North Dorset Business Park, off the A357, has stopped one firm operating and could affect three other plots.

A report to the county council cabinet on December 5th says local builders, Jordan and Faber, were unable to develop the plot they own on the western edge of the site because of land movement.

The company is now threatening to sue for potential damages as a result of the delay in constructing their new premises.

The business park was originally started to help create local jobs by the county council and the Homes and Communities Agency, with work getting underway in 2013. The last plot sold in 2017 with the site now operated by a management company set up and controlled by the county council.

A report to the cabinet says that likely remedial works to re-graded the slope once further investigations have been carried out could amount to around £440,000 and is likely to include the creation of a temporary road because of difficulties in getting onto the affected area.

Cabinet members are being asked to approve setting aside around £450,000 to resolve the issue.