RESIDENTS in Upton Warren are up in arms, after Highways England removed a number of trees last Wednesday along the east side of the M5 close to Swan Lane in the village.

The work was undertaken as part of construction work to upgrade the M5 to a ‘smart’ motorway with four lanes, and a number of residents complained about problems with visibility and noise created by the loss of the trees.

Carol Vaughn’s property backs onto the motorway. She said: “Had they have done their homework before they started, all this wouldn’t really have been necessary. They just went ahead, didn’t know that Upton Warren was a conversation area. It was wonderful before. There was the bund and then there were these 30 foot high trees, and there were small bushes. It all came down to the fence on my side, and now there’s nothing, absolutely nothing. How can you go outside and see cars and lorries when you use to see trees?

“It’s horrendous now, it’s unbelievable. It’s like living in a toll house in the middle of the motorway. The people at the barn conversions looking down the motorway on the south they are lower so they’re getting a lot of noise which comes down the bank to their bedroom level.

“Nobody came to the village, nobody came to see me. Apparently one of the residents had a letter to say there’s going to be some pruning, but that’s not pruning.

“I can’t believe they’ve done it without consulting anyone along the side of the motorway ‘this is the motorway’ that’s their attitude and they’ll just road roll over them. I just think it’s very sad that they’ve taken down 30 year old trees. I can’t believe they couldn’t have left two lines and put a sound barrier along the other side of the trees on the motorway side.”

Two meetings have been held this week with more than 30 local residents putting their questions to representatives from Upton Warren Parish Council, Highways England, Wychavon district councillor Hugh Hamilton, and the local MP Nigel Huddleston.

Janice Allen the project lead for Highways England, said: “We have been carrying out preparatory work ahead of converting the M5 between junctions 4a and 6 to a smart motorway all running lane, and as part of the work it has been necessary to clear vegetation along sections of the highway verge.

“The preparatory works relate to the ecological surveys and to enable the installation of technology supporting the scheme.

“Following the meeting on Monday to listen to the concerns from residents, we held a further meeting on Thursday with representatives from the residents, the parish councillor, district councillor and the MP for this area.

“We are continuing to work with the residents and parish council to find a suitable solution to their immediate concerns while we will continue to investigate some longer term options.

“We continue to welcome requests for information about the scheme.”

MP Nigel Huddleston, added: “It was a frank but positive meeting at which local residents got their points across clearly. I was glad that Highways England and the contractors responded positively to the valid concerns expressed by those impacted by the removal of the trees. I am confident that suitable, temporary noise reducing fencing will be forthcoming. In the longer term, the combination of a quieter road surface and replacement trees should reduce the noise pollution considerably along the M5, but it is vital that a temporary solution is found to reduce the immediate noise and visual impact of the removal of the trees.”

For more information on the scheme, visit highways.gov.uk/roads/road-projects/m5-junctions-4a-to-6/.