[Christine]

Any planting suggestions or management stategies for a runaway slope? The soil is moving with every rain, and doesn't look to be too fertile. And there is always the problem of disturbing what ground has settled when the planting....

[cooler]

Whips of native trees and shrubs. You see the councils and corparations using them all the time on the steep sloping sides of the roads. The work well and are cheap as chips during their autumn winter planting time.

[Sb]

In the states they would grass a slope like that using hydroseeding. Pellets of seed mixed with soil blown on to it out of a cannon type job. But then you have to worry about mowing it.
Have you looked into planting cultivated bramble. I think gpi posted on it before, I will have a search for it and see what I can find.

edit
found it http://www.gardenplansireland.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1387