INVESTIGATIONS are continuing into the causes of a landslip at Loftus Bank.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council is looking into the problem, but insists there is no link with £2.5m repairs to the road three years ago.

Residents and businesses in the area are receiving a newsletter on the investigation. A report on the findings is expected to be completed by the end of the year or early 2005.

The report will outline the extent of the remedial works which, in turn, will determine the time required to design and construct the repair.

A routine inspection in July saw that the crash barrier on the west side of the A174 Loftus Bank had buckled due to a landslip on the embankment.

Temporary traffic signals have since been in operation as while investigators tried to pinpoint the problem.

A national expert on landslips is helping to complete the report by Middlesbrough Laboratory Services and a monitoring system is being installed.

The possibility of a leaking water main being to blame was ruled out at an early stage, as well as any connection with the earlier works carried out 100m further up the bank.

Coun Eric Empson, cabinet member for strategic planning, development and infrastructure said a solution could not be achieved in the short-term.

He explained: "Taking the previous landslip as a guide, completion of the construction of remedial works could take 12 months or more, with design and tendering procedures adding possibly a further three to four months.

"Every effort will be made to undertake the remedial works without a full road closure, so we can keep using the present signal control traffic management system.

"We cannot make a categorical assurance on that until the remedial works are known. And at this stage, it's impossible to estimate how much it's all going to cost."