Work to repair a historic wall and popular footpath into Swanage in Dorset, which was destroyed in a landslip due to building work, has finally been completed ten months after the incident.
One evening in September 2024, some residents in West Durlston suddenly lost their water supply when a long stretch of the six foot high Purbeck stone wall and the footpath cracked and fell, bursting a water main.
It was a miracle no one was walking along the path at 6 pm when it collapsed
Finishing touches were being completed on Thursday 31st July 2025
Luckily no one was injured
Sunshine Walk links Chapel Lane with Manor Road, and provides a quick walking route up to Swanage Hospital and down into town.
The incident followed excavation work on the adjacent building site, formerly St Mary’s Convent and school, which had undermined the wall’s foundations.
Luckily no one was injured, despite the extent of the wall’s collapse, however the footpath was closed for safety reasons until all the rebuilding work was completed.
At the time, Wessex Water quickly restored a water supply to nearby houses with a temporary fix
Now the water supply has been properly repaired
Not a Right of Way
Now, much to the relief of residents, Sunshine Walk is expected to be reopened by Saturday 2nd August 2025.
The footpath is not a legal Right of Way so this made it more difficult for Dorset Council to ensure the stone wall was rebuilt quickly by the property developers.
The planning application to build the homes on the old St Mary’s Convent was controversial as the developer said it couldn’t make a big enough profit if it included housing designated as affordable
The plan is to build 29 new houses and convert the old convent buildings into 11 flats
Work paid for by property developers
Thirty new homes are being built on the site adjacent to Sunshine Walk and it was a condition of planning that the historic Purbeck stone walls would be preserved.
The walls were built by the Victorian Swanage entrepreneur and quarryman George Burt to surround his estate and home, which is now the Purbeck House Hotel.
It is understood that the property developers paid for and completed the rebuilding of the footpath and wall, and all the original stones were used.
