P-05-690 Resurfacing of the A40 between Abergavenny and Raglan – Correspondence from David T C Davies MP to the Committee, 07.03.18

I understand the above petition, originally submitted in July 2016, is to be further discussed on Tuesday 13 March 2018.

Residents of The Bryn, Bryngwyn and smaller hamlets have been campaigning for over 10 years for the A40 between Abergavenny and Raglan to be resurfaced with ‘whisper tarmac’. It is now 2018 and strong arguments remain for this stretch of trunk road to be treated as a priority case.

The excessive amount of tyre noise generated from the concrete A40 dual carriageway, which was built in 1981, is persistent (day and night) and invasive. It makes it impossible for local people to enjoy their gardens or even to sleep with windows open. There are further concerns that once the Heads of the Valleys widening scheme is complete, noise levels will get dramatically worse due to an even higher volume of traffic accessing the A465 via the A40.

While the Welsh Government seems to be favouring a limited form of noise barrier/fencing, this has been roundly rejected by all involved as being inappropriate and unlikely to resolve the whole problem. Any such barrier would be very weather dependent, as well as having to be extensive i.e. a mile or so in either direction of The Bryn on both sides of the carriageway, and similarly at Bryngwyn and other various points along the A40.

It remains the strong opinion of these affected and long-suffering communities that the only way to alleviate A40 noise pollution is to resurface the entire highway.

Regards David Davies

David T C Davies MP

Member for Monmouth