No end to motorway noise for villagers

Shrewley parish council recently raised the long-running issue with the new government after repeatedly being knocked back by the previous administration. They have made some progress, but there will be no quick solution .

The noise from traffic on the motorway has long been a problem for residents, particularly those in Hatton Station, and they have been campaigning to have the M40 nearby given a low-noise topping.

A recent response from undersecretary of state Mike Penning confirmed the surface will be replaced, but not for at least four to five years.

Vice-chairman of the council, Paul Tilley, said: “It has got progressively worse, it does cause us enormous noise, although it isn’t always there as it depends very much on the wind direction.

“They’ve said that when it comes to be resurfaced they will do it with the soft topping, and I take that as quite a positive.”

Jeremy Wright MP said: “There’s a list of road projects which it is on but obviously financial circumstances are very tight at the moment.

“We will have to keep applying pressure to make sure it stays on that list.

“It is very difficult to be specific about when it will happen but it is something that I’m very conscious is a problem for a lot of people.

“ I live very close to the M40 myself so I know how loud it can be.

“It has been going on for a very long time. It’s been promised for nine or ten years so the sooner it is sorted the better.”