Long-suffering residents drowned by in A40 noise pollution last week met with Welsh Government officials, with some hope the 20-year issue would finally find a solution.

In a fractious meeting marked by both frustrations and relief, some of the attendees from the Bryngwyn area left feeling ‘disappointed’ after learning only The Bryn area would receive long-awaited work to plug deafening noise coming from the A40 between Abergavenny and Raglan.

Welsh Government officials, and acoustic engineering contractors, admitted early during the meeting that their focus centred upon The Bryn—leaving residents of nearby villages also affected by the noise, up in arms.

Work involving those areas falls under another project earmarked for the next financial year.

One older gentleman, who didn’t give his name, said the revelation was ‘extremely disappointing’ and not what the group had been fighting for over ‘two decades’.

Cars and lorries travelling at high speeds along the adjacent A40 have caused misery for the local community, with residents being kept awake at night by the ‘constant rumbling’.

Contractors revealed they had carried out noise mitigation research over the last few months, and that they recommend resurfacing a stretch of the A40 with noise-reduction coating, and installing 4m-tall barriers to soften the rumble.

However, many attendees questioned whether the plans would work, pointing out that the resurfacing, and barriers, did not cover the entire area affected by what they called ‘nightmarish’ noise levels.

The road is one of only a few left in the country with an outdated concrete surface which residents have campaigned to be resurfaced with ‘whisper tarmac.’

One lady said spending any time during spring or summer in her garden was ‘impossible’. “You cannot hold a conversation—it is that loud,” she said.

Acoustic engineers then explained that the average decibel level 15m from the A40 was around 70 decibels. They couldn’t give an estimate when asked by how much their plans would reduce this noise level.

Tim Barnes, of Welsh Government, said he regretted not being able to stretch the project to all affected areas. “I’d love to do the whole A40. That would be impossible,” he said, given that over 200 sites in the country needed similar attention over the next five years.

But some residents expressed optimism, telling the Chronicle that, after 20 years of fighting, this news stepped in the ‘right direction.’

Nick Ramsay AM learned that the total cost of the project totalled £1m. When he asked what a total resurfacing would cost, a Welsh Government official claimed north of £70m, whilst the noise-reduction coating had a lifespan of ten years.

“This was a comprehensive presentation by the Welsh Government officials, which received a cautious welcome,” said Mr Ramsay. “It is hoped that the steps proposed should significantly reduce road noise levels for local residents who have been campaigning for years for action.

 

“However, I do appreciate the concerns of residents living at Bryngwyn as the proposed scheme will not help their village. I will be calling on the Welsh Government to make progress finding a solution for Bryngwyn also as soon as possible.”

Another local man, Nick, said the problem had worsened since the Heads of the Valleys construction project began, and spoke in fear that the toll abolition on the Severn Bridge would only worsen the problem.

One lady, who preferred not to be named, said after the meeting, “I’m very optimistic. It’s the best we have been offered in twenty years. In fairness to them, they cannot go by anecdotal evidence. They have to go by their research. I think we should go fro this and be optimistic about it.”

Hazel Charles, meanwhile, said, “I think it is great that they have compromised. But they haven’t done half of what they said they would before. We will have to wait and see.”

Andrew Sheasby, who has been a mainstay over the last twenty years of campaigning, struck a more sceptical tone. He said,“There are areas all along the A40 which are affected. But the two worst are The Bryn, and Bryngwyn. They’ve known that all the way along. It is disappointing.

Work on The Bryn and the A40 is to begin in late summer.